Nov. 19, 2010
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Site: Evanston, Ill. (Welsh-Ryan Arena)
Score: Northwestern 71, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 45
Records: NU (3-0), Arkansas-Pine Bluff (0-3)
Next NU Event: Sunday, Nov. 28 -- vs. Creighton (Welsh-Ryan Arena), 7:30 p.m.
Tickets on sale at NUsports.com or by calling 888-GO-PURPLE
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Drew Crawford and John Shurna scored 17 points apiece and the Northwestern men's basketball team put forth a dominant defensive performance in cruising to a 71-45 victory in its home opener Friday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
The Wildcats limited the Golden Lions to just 31.4 percent shooting in the contest in improving to 3-0 on the season.
NU jumped on the visitors right out of the gates, scoring 11 straight points to take an 11-2 lead. Arkansas-Pine Bluff quickly pulled back within four, but the Wildcats rode the hot hand of Shurna to stretch out their advantage.
The junior forward entered the contest leading the Big Ten with an average of 25.5 points per game and there was no let-down on this particular evening. Shurna had 11 points by the time the contest was eight minutes old and he went on to score all of his 17 points in the contest over the opening 20 minutes of play.
Crawford contributed 10 points of his own before the break as Northwestern built a commanding 44-25 halftime lead.
After playing a hard-fought game at Texas-Pan American Wednesday evening, the Wildcats were able to put the game out of distance early in the second half and rest their starters. No one on the Northwestern roster played more than 28 minutes.
Crawford made sure to leave no doubt as to the end result as he started the second stanza with a 3-pointer and then a lay-in to make it a 24-point game with 17 minutes remaining.
NU held the Golden Lions to just nine points over the first 14 minutes of the second half as the hosts' lead grew to as many as 30 points after the intermission.
JerShon Cobb led Northwestern with a team-high eight rebounds as the Wildcats finished with a 36-32 edge on the boards.
NU takes an eight-day layoff from competition before returning to action Sunday, Nov. 28 when it host Creighton at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale at NUsports.com or by calling 888-GO-PURPLE.
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