Dec. 28, 2011
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Site: Columbus, Ohio (Value City Arena)
Score: #2/2 Ohio State 87, Northwestern 54
Records: NU (10-3, 0-1 Big Ten), Ohio State (13-1, 1-0 Big Ten)
Next NU Event: Sunday, Jan. 1 -- vs. Penn State (Welsh-Ryan Arena), 6 p.m.
Tickets: Available at NUsports.com or by calling 888-GO-PURPLE
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A first-half run by No. 2/2 Ohio State proved to be too much for Northwestern to overcome as the Wildcats dropped a 87-54 decision in their Big Ten season-opener Wednesday evening at Value City Arena.
Drew Crawford led the Wildcats with 13 points. John Shurna contributed 11 points, while Dave Sobolewski chipped in with 10 points and five assists in his first career Big Ten game. William Buford led the Buckeyes with a career-high 28 points.
Northwestern trailed 7-2 right out of the gates, but a 3-pointer by Sobolewski cut the deficit to two. Shurna's triple gave the Wildcats a 10-8 lead before Davide Curletti knotted the score at 13-13 with 12:17 remaining in the stanza.
However, that's when the NU offense hit a drought. Jordan Siebert connected twice from beyond the arc and Buford hit one of his own as the Buckeyes rattled off 13 straight points to take a double-digit lead.
All told, Ohio State went on a 23-4 run over a span of nine minutes and 37 seconds to go in front 36-17. Six straight points by the Wildcats got them back within 13 before Alex Marcotullio's triple at the first-half horn made it 41-26 OSU at the intermission.
The duo of Shurna and Crawford came into the game ranked first and second, respectively, in the Big Ten in scoring, but both were cold from the field over the opening 20 minutes of play.
Northwestern shot just 33.3 percent (9-27) from the field in the first half to 48.4 percent (15-31) for the Buckeyes. Buford and Siebert each went 3-for-4 from 3-point range for the hosts in the period.
JerShon Cobb's trey 2:20 into the second stanza got NU as close as it had been in awhile at 43-31. The Wildcats were still within 49-36 following Shurna's bucket with 15 minutes remaining, but Northwestern was never able to make a serious run.
The Wildcats managed just 32.1 percent shooting in the contest (17-53), while the Buckeyes shot 47.5 percent (29-61), including making 10 of 20 from 3-point range.
Northwestern returns to action at 6 p.m. Sunday as it takes on Penn State in its Big Ten home opener. Tickets are available at NUsports.com or by calling 888-GO-PURPLE.
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