Wildcats win third straight

KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Craig Moore scored a season-high 24 points, and Northwestern posted its third consecutive win, 65-63 over Western Michigan on Saturday.

Moore scored 8 points in the final minute, including a 3-pointer with 56 seconds remaining that gave the Wildcats (4-4) their biggest lead of the game, 58-53. He hit 5 of 6 free throws in the final 17 seconds, including one with three seconds left, to preserve the win.

It was Moore's most productive game since scoring 26 in a 77-75 overtime win over Western Michigan last year.

Western Michigan (4-5) had one last chance to tie or win, but a pass by David Kool with 0.3 seconds left sailed out of bounds.

Northwestern overcame a 15-point deficit in defeating the Broncos for the 11th straight time, hitting half its shots (23 of 46) in the second half despite being outrebounded 35-12.

Joe Reitz scored 20 points and had a game-high 8 rebounds for Western Michigan, which lost its third straight. Derek Drews and Kool each scored 13.

Moore hit five 3-pointers for Northwestern, which totaled 12 3-point baskets Saturday and 27 in its past two games. Jason Ozresik came off the bench and scored 14 points and had a team-high 4 rebounds for Northwestern, and Michael Thompson scored 11.

Northwestern, which missed 8 of its first 11 shots, trailed 22-7 12 minutes into the game. The Wildcats stormed back with a 21-6 run, tying the score at 28-28 with 45 seconds left in the first half and taking a 31-30 lead on a 3-pointer by Moore as the buzzer sounded.