Senior forward Vic Law and senior guard Ryan Taylor scored 21 points apiece as Northwestern rebounded from a disappointing performance Thursday to earn a 91-74 victory over La Salle in the consolation bracket of the Wooden Legacy Tournament at Fullerton, Calif.
Junior forward A.J. Turner added 20 points for the Wildcats (4-1), who fell 78-59 to Fresno State one day earlier.
Senior guard Pookie Powell had 23 points for La Salle (0-6), which was much improved after its 49-point performance on Thursday in a loss to Miami. Sophomore center Miles Brookins added 12 points for the Explorers.
Northwestern will complete the Wooden Legacy Tournament on Sunday against the winner of the matchup between Utah and Grand Canyon. La Salle will play the loser of the Utah-Grand Canyon game.
The game was never in doubt as the high-energy Wildcats opened up a 17-7 lead four minutes into the game and extended it to 25-10 nine minutes into the contest. Northwestern led 45-26 at halftime.
Senior center Dererk Pardon added 12 points and eight rebounds. Law also grabbed eight rebounds. Northwestern outrebounded La Salle 37-23. Pardon fouled out with just under two minutes remaining.
Law scored in double digits for the fifth consecutive game and for his 52nd time at Northwestern. Pardon has also scored in double digits in every game this season, and six consecutive going back to last season.
La Salle became the second consecutive team to score at least 74 points against Northwestern after the Wildcats held their first three nonconference opponents under 60.
Freshman forward Jared Kimbrough added 10 points for the Explorers, who were 7-of-20 from 3-point range after going 2-of-25 from distance Thursday. Northwestern was 8-of-23 from 3-point range Friday.
It was the second consecutive year Northwestern and La Salle met in a Thanksgiving weekend tournament. The Wildcats earned an 82-74 victory last year in the Hall of Fame Tipoff at Uncasville, Conn.
--Field Level Media
La Salle | Northwestern | |
Pookie Powell 23 | Scoring | Vic Law 21 |
Traci Carter 7 | Assists | Ryan Taylor 5 |
Pookie Powell 6 | Rebounds | Vic Law 8 |
Pookie Powell 12 | Free Throws Made | Vic Law 14 |
Traci Carter 3 | Steals | Jordan Ash 2 |
Miles Brookins 1 | Blocks | Vic Law 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
La Salle | 74 | 45.1 | 7-20 | 21-27 | 13 | 19 | 2 | 8 | 16 |
Northwestern | 91 | 48.0 | 8-23 | 35-43 | 18 | 34 | 1 | 7 | 18 |