Senior forward John Shurna led all scorers with 20 points, including five three-pointers, and Northwestern cruised to an 81-51 victory against Texas Southern Tuesday at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
The Wildcats were sharp from the perimeter, nailing 13 of 29 three-point attempts. Freshman guard Dave Sobolewski poured in 15 points, all of which came from behind the arc.
Junior guard Drew Crawford scored 17 points, and sophomore guard JerShon Cobb added 10 in his first game back from a concussion sustained Nov. 25 against Stony Brook.
The Cats stormed out of the gate in their first competition since a disappointing loss to No. 7 Baylor 11 days earlier. They opened the game with a 23-3 run and led by as many as 32.
NU (8-1) controlled the defensive glass, an area that emerged as a concern early in the season. The Tigers failed to corral an offensive rebound in the first 10 minutes and 22 seconds of Thursday’s game. The lack of second-chance opportunities proved costly for Texas Southern (1-7), which lost its sixth consecutive game.
No Texas Southern player recorded a double-digit point total. Guard Omar Strong, who leads the Tigers with 13 points per game, was held to just one made field goal.
NU entered Thursday’s contest with a nation-leading 1.77 assists per turnover ratio. The Cats improved on that statistic, with their performance against the Tigers, as they posted 24 assists and 11 turnovers for a 2.18 ratio on the night. Shurna, Crawford and senior center Luka Mirkovic each spread the ball around effectively, each tying for the game high with five assists.
The Cats close their home non-conference slate with games against Central Connecticut State (5-4) on Saturday and Eastern Illinois (6-3) on Sunday. NU hopes to finish the week on a high note before it gets another resumé-building opportunity at No. 25 Creighton Thursday.
Guard Tre Demps will miss the rest of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery Tuesday. The freshman may be eligible for a medical redshirt despite making four appearances for the Cats. His absence adds to NU’s recent injury problems, as only six Cats have played in every game this season.
