Northwestern rolls past Texas Southern 81-51

Northwestern needed this one.

After winning their first seven games, the Wildcats were blown out by No. 6 Baylor more than a week ago in their last game before final exams.

But they passed their next test Thursday night in routing Texas Southern 81-51.

"That last game against Baylor wasn't much fun," Northwestern coach Bill Carmody said, referring to a 69-41 loss to the Bears on Dec. 4.

"Getting back in the groove a little bit here. I just liked the way the guys were sharing the ball (24 assists)."

John Shurna scored 20 points, Drew Crawford had 17 and freshman Dave Sobolewski added 15 as the Wildcats (8-1) looked sharp from the beginning in their first game in 11 days.

Northwestern roared to a 23-3 lead, hitting 8 of 12 from the field including 5 of 8 3-pointers. Texas Southern (1-7), meanwhile, missed eight of its first nine shots. Crawford scored 10 points in that opening surge as Northwestern spread the floor and kept the ball moving.

It was more of the same in the second half, as the Wildcats led by as many as 32 points..

"We all moved the ball well and knocked down open shots," Sobolewski said. "When you've got that many guys putting up double figures, scoring and passing like the way we were, it's fun to play like that."

The Wildcats finished 13 for 29 (45 percent) from behind the 3-point line, while the Tigers were 3 for 10. Shurna was 5 for 7 and Sobolewski 5 for 8 from behind the arc.

"When we compete, this could be one of the best shooting teams we've had," Carmody said.

The Wildcats, who didn't attempt a free throw in the second half after making 10 of 17 before intermission, held a 37-28 rebounding edge on the night and committed 11 turnovers to Texas Southern's 21.

JerShon Cobb scored 10 points to give the Wildcats something they haven't had much of this year, scoring off the bench. Cobb had missed the last three games with a concussion.

"JerShon is a little rusty, but he gave us some good minutes," Carmody said. "We were trying to get him tired out."

"I feel a lot better than I was," Cobb said.

Shurna added six rebounds and five assists. One of Shurna's assists brought the crowd to its feet early in the second half, as his lob pass was caught and slammed in by Crawford. Another crowd-pleasing play by Crawford came toward the end, when he stole the ball near midcourt and drove in for another dunk, this time with his left hand.

Patrick Onwenu led the Tigers with nine points and Fred Sturdivant scored eight and had three of Texas Southern's nine blocked shots.

After its extended layoff, Northwestern gets back in action against Central Connecticut State in Evanston on Saturday. Texas Southern, which has all seven of its losses on the road, next plays at Colorado State on Monday.

This was the first meeting between Northwestern and Texas Southern, which won the Southwestern Athletic Conference regular-season title last season.

"I think we've got a nice team, but we're really young," Texas Southern coach Tony B. Harvey said. "Guys are really trying to find their niches."

Harvey had plenty of praise for Northwestern.

"They really shoot the ball well and they're a really good passing team," he said. "They just don't make a lot of mistakes."