Northwestern put on an offensive display in a 91-71 exhibition game victory at Welch-Ryan Arena to open its 2010-2011 season.
Junior forward John Shurna led the Wildcats with 19 points and eight rebounds in just 23 minutes, sophomore forward Drew Crawford contributed 16 points, nine rebounds and six blocks, and highly-touted freshman guard JerShon Cobb added 12 points.
NU allowed the Eagles to hang around until midway through the first half, when a layup by sophomore guard Alex Marcotullio with about 10 minutes remaining gave the the Cats a 23-21 lead that it did not give up. NU took a 46-35 lead and played to a very similar score in the second half: 45-36.
Thirteen NU players got into the game and 11 of them scored. Senior guard Michael “Juice” Thompson also finished in double digits with 13 points.
The Cats shot 49 percent from the field and turned the ball over just four times. But they made just 53 percent of their free throws and were out-rebounded by the Eagles.
The Cats beat Robert Morris 78-49 last year. The Eagles went on to post a 22-11 record and advance to the semifinal round of the NAIA Division I tournament.
NU opens its regular season at Northern Illinois next Friday.
Check back for more information throughout the night and a full story in tomorrow’s paper.
This was first sent as a breaking news alert. To be the first to know about what’s happening on campus and in Evanston, sign up for breaking news alerts here.
