Drew Crawford is serving notice that Northwestern has not one, but two forces to be reckoned with.
Carried by their junior guard, the Wildcats won the Charleston Classic Sunday by defeating Seton Hall 80-73, after avenging their 2009 NIT loss to Tulsa on Friday.
“The tournament was very competitive,” senior forward Luka Mirkovic said. “We beat three good clubs and that gives us a lot of confidence going into the rest of the season.”
After combining for 55 points in the two weekend bouts, Crawford was honored as the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.
For an NU team whose success is often based off the play of senior forward John Shurna, Crawford demonstrated his potential to dominate games.
The Cats came out firing in the championship game, connecting on 16 of their 26 shots from the field in the opening frame. Crawford scored 17 first-half points, including three makes from behind the arc. His mix of perimeter shooting and drives to the net kept the Pirates’ defense off balance. He finished with 27 points on 11-of-15 shooting.
“One of the things that coach (Bill Carmody) wanted us to work on during the offseason was scoring off the dribble,” Crawford said. “It’s something that Johnny (Shurna), Dave (Sobolewski) and I worked on over the summer.”
Mirkovic provided a crucial interior presence against a talented group of Seton Hall forwards. He added eight early points, helping the Cats jump out to a 40-30 halftime advantage.
“I was trying to be aggressive,” Mirkovic said. “My mindset was to play hard, always be active, and it paid off.”
Freshman point guard Dave Sobolewski knocked down a triple to give NU (4-0) its largest lead of the game at 54-42 with 14:44 to go. The Pirates (3-1) responded with a 15-0 run over the next six minutes and 14 seconds. Shurna ended the drought by knocking down a critical three-pointer, part of a 19-point performance. The teams stayed even from there, with the Pirates clinging to a 67-65 lead with 3:30 remaining.
The Cats regained the lead after two free throws from Shurna and a clutch jumper from Crawford. They closed the game on a 15-6 run, including seven made free throws.
“We were up twelve, then down by one, but we stuck together,” said Mirkovic, who finished with 12 points. “With teamwork, we managed to win.”
NU struggled to match Seton Hall forward Herb Pope, who netted a career-high 32 points on 14-of-17 shooting, but the Cats played turnover-free basketball over the final nine minutes and 35 seconds to earn the victory.
“Clutch play is something really important to us,” Crawford said. “It’s something we focused on with a lot of experienced guys. We were able to withstand, sustain and play through close games.”
