Nov. 29, 2011
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Site: Atlanta, Ga. (Philips Arena)
Score: Northwestern 76, Georgia Tech 60
Records: NU (6-0), Georgia Tech (4-3)
Next NU Event: Friday, Dec. 2 -- vs. Mississippi Valley State (Welsh-Ryan Arena), 7 p.m.
ATLANTA -- Northwestern became the first Big Ten team in the history of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge to win games four straight years as the Wildcats defeated Georgia Tech 76-60 at Philips Arena Tuesday evening.
John Shurna paced NU with 25 points, eight rebounds, three blocked shots and three steals. Drew Crawford contributed 14 points, while Luka Mirkovic added 13 as Northwestern improves to 6-0 on the season.
The Wildcats got off to a good start early on as NU stormed out to a 12-4 lead four minutes into the contest, forcing the Yellow Jackets to burn a timeout.
The advantage would grow to 15-4 before Georgia Tech made a run to get within five at 18-13 on a 3-pointer by Jason Morris.
Northwestern would push the lead back up to 12 at 36-24 and threatened to pull away, but the hosts battled back behind the hot hand of Morris. The sophomore guard scored seven points during a 9-0 run that made it a three-point game.
The Yellow Jackets had a chance to cut it to one in the closing 30 seconds of the half, but Morris couldn't finish an alley oop attempt. Following a Northwestern timeout, Dave Sobolewski got to the rim and scored on a reverse layup with five seconds remaining to give the 'Cats a 44-39 lead at the break.
The Wildcats did damage in the paint over the opening 20 minutes of play, scoring 28 of their points in the lane. NU also forced 11 turnovers which they were able to convert into 11 points.
Shurna led a balanced scoring effort in the first half with 15 points, while Mirkovic pitched in with nine.
Shurna picked up where he left off to start the second half, draining 3-pointers on the Wildcats' first two possessions to help increase the advantage to nine.
Northwestern clamped down defensively in the second half to help it extend its lead. The Wildcats pushed their lead to as many as 13 thanks to allowing Georgia Tech to make just five of its first 18 field goal attempts.
The Yellow Jackets were still within striking distance down 10 with 6:45 remaining, but two baskets by Mirkovic and a layup by Crawford increased NU's lead to 71-55 and helped seal the victory.
The Wildcats limited Georgia Tech to just 21 second-half points on 8-of-27 shooting. NU shot 55.4 percent (31-56) from the field in the contest to 42.6 percent (23-54) for the Jackets.
Sobolewski, who entered the game with an impressive 3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, did nothing to hurt that statistic as he dished out six helpers with just one miscue to go along with eight points in 35 minutes of action.
Northwestern returns home to Welsh-Ryan Arena Friday night as it squares off against Mississippi Valley State. Tip time is set for 7 p.m.
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