March 16, 2011
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Site: Evanston, Ill. (Welsh-Ryan Arena)
Score: Northwestern 70, Milwaukee 61
Records: NU (19-13), Milwaukee (19-14)
Next NU Event: Saturday, March 19 -- at Boston College, 10 a.m. CT
EVANSTON, Ill. -- John Shurna had 25 points and eight rebounds and Michael Thompson contributed 20 points and six assists as Northwestern defeated Milwaukee 70-61 in a first-round National Invitation Tournament matchup Wednesday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
With the win, the fourth-seeded Wildcats advance to take on top-seeded Boston College at 10 a.m. Central time Saturday in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Hosting its first postseason game in 17 years, NU didn't disappoint a boisterous crowd.
Northwestern jumped out to an early 13-8 behind a pair of 3-pointers by Shurna, but Milwaukee answered with eight straight points to take a three-point advantage with 12:47 left in the opening half.
That would be the Panthers' last points for quite some time, though. The Wildcats' switch to the 1-3-1 defense gave the visitors fits.
A runner in the lane by Thompson ignited an 18-0 run by the hosts as NU held Milwaukee scoreless over a span of nine minutes and 50 seconds. The Wildcats' lead ballooned to 31-16 following Drew Crawford's jumper with 4:26 left in the half.
The Panthers came to life, though, as Ryan Allen scored five points during a seven-point run to get Milwaukee back within eight. Northwestern would eventually take a 38-26 lead into the break.
UWM was within nine before a bucket by Luka Mirkovic and a 3-pointer by Alex Marcotullio stretched the Wildcats' lead to 14 three minutes into the half, forcing the Panthers to burn a timeout.
Northwestern comfortably maintained a double-digit lead throughout the majority of the second stanza before the visitors made a late run. With the Wildcats up 15, three consecutive triples by Tony Meier, Kaylon Williams and then Meier again cut the Panthers' deficit to just six with 5:13 remaining.
However, Thompson answered with a triple on the other end and then Shurna followed with his fifth triple of the game to push NU's lead back up to 12 to help seal the win.
Marcotullio continued his stellar late-season play, scoring 13 points to go along with five rebounds and three steals. Northwestern connected on 14 of 16 free throw attempts to just four of five for Milwaukee. The Wildcats' defense forced the Panthers into 16 turnovers.
Northwestern controlled the boards, holding a 37-29 rebounding advantage, including grabbing 16 offensive caroms.
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