Dec. 13, 2010
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Site: Evanston, Ill. (Welsh-Ryan Arena)
Score: Northwestern 81, Long Island 65
Records: NU (6-0), Long Island (6-4)
Next NU Event: Date -- vs. American (Welsh-Ryan Arena), 7 p.m.
Tickets available at NUsports.com or by calling 888-GO-PURPLE
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern junior forward John Shurna connected on 10 of 11 field goal attempts and scored 26 points to go along with seven rebounds and a career-high seven assists as the Wildcats defeated Long Island 81-65 Monday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Michael Thompson added 16 points and seven assists as NU improved to 6-0 on the season.
Shurna's .909 field goal percentage in the contest ranks as a tie for the second-best performance in school history. Patrick Baldwin also went 10-for-11 against Minnesota Feb. 28, 1991.
Freshman JerShon Cobb had the hot hand for the Wildcats early on, hitting a pair of 3-pointers and a free throw as Northwestern went on a nine-point run to take a 9-4 advantage.
Shurna attempted just one shot over the opening 14 minutes of play, but he dished out four assists over that time. NU's lead was 22-16 just past the midway point of the opening half when it went on a 19-6 run over the next seven minutes of play.
The surge coincided with Shurna taking charge on the offensive end. He scored 11 of the Wildcats' points during the run as the hosts opened up a 44-25 lead with two and a half minutes to go in the stanza.
Northwestern would eventually take a 44-30 lead into the break as it shot 50 percent (16-32) from the field to just 36.4 percent (8-22) for the Blackbirds who committed 11 turnovers over the opening 20 minutes of play.
The Wildcats held a 14-point lead two and half minutes into the second half when it embarked on an 18-7 run to put the game away.
NU led 74-50 with 6:40 left when Long Island scored 12 straight points to make the final score more respectable.
Shurna entered the game as the nation's leader with a .621 3-point field goal percentage and he didn't do anything to hurt that sizzling mark, connecting on both of his tries from beyond the arch in the contest.
As a team, Northwestern matched its season average by making 10 triples in the contest on 26 tries. Paced by Shurna and Thompson, the Wildcats assisted on 24 of their 29 field goals on the evening.
Northwestern returns to action at 7 p.m. Thursday as it wraps up its five-game homestand by facing American. Tickets are available at NUsports.com or by calling 888-GO-PURPLE.
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