Record first half for hot-shooting NU

Northwestern added a historic night to what it hopes to be a historic season Tuesday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

The Wildcats rode 55 first-half points and 66.7 percent shooting from 3-point range to a 91-71 statement victory over Georgia Tech in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

The 55 points in a half was a record for the 11-year Bill Carmody era in Evanston and helped Northwestern win its third straight in the Challenge. The win gives the Wildcats a happy note on which to begin a two-week break before playing Long Island on December 13.

“If you lose a game like this, you've got to think about it for two weeks,“ Carmody said.

Junior John Shurna paced the Wildcats with 24 points and went 8-for-8 from the field, including five 3-pointers, and sophomore Drew Crawford added 19 points on 8-for-11 from the field as Northwestern (5-0) shot a season-high 64 percent from the floor.

Early on, it looked as if Georgia Tech would be the team lighting up the scoreboard.

The Yellow Jackets got to the rim with ease in the game's first five minutes and made their first 5 field goals to go ahead 13-5.

“They were just too comfortable,” Carmody said. “They had us back on our heels.”

Out of the first media timeout, the Wildcats switched from matchup zone to a more pressure-oriented 1-3-1 defense.

And the rout was on.

Georgia Tech missed 13 of its next 20 shots, and the Wildcats made 8 of their first 9 3-point field goal attempts to end the half on a 50-24 run and take a 55-37 lead into the half.

“They went right to the rim on a few plays, and then we got our bearings and really shot the ball well,” Carmody said.

The game was one that several Wildcats had circled when the season began, and the dominance they displayed over a team that pushed seventh-ranked Syracuse could prove crucial when Northwestern looks to earn its first NCAA Tournament birth in March.

“We've got a good schedule, but this game obviously stood out for all of us,” junior Luka Mirkovic said.