Vic Law had 17 points, four assists and three steals in a little over a half of action and freshman forward Miller Kopp also scored 17 points to lead Northwestern to a 88-46 victory over visiting Chicago State on Monday night.
It was the second straight victory for Northwestern (8-3) following back-to-back Big Ten losses at Indiana and to No. 5 Michigan. Dererk Pardon finished with 13 points and seven rebounds for the Wildcats, who improved to 13-0 all-time against the Cougars.
Travon Bell scored 12 points, Rob Shaw had 11 points and grabbed a career-high seven rebounds and Anthony Harris finished with 11 points for Chicago State (3-10), which lost its second straight game. The Cougars shot 31.3 percent and committed 18 turnovers.
Northwestern, playing its first game in nine days after taking a break for final exams, didn't show any rust, shooting 50 percent in the first half while building a 44-27 lead.
The Wildcats did it with balance and defense. Eight different players scored in the half, led by Law's 12 points while Pardon and Kopp added seven points each.
Northwestern forced nine turnovers and finished with a 10-1 edge in assists.
Still, it was a morale victory for the Cougars. In a 96-31 loss last season, Chicago State managed just eight first half points -- the fewest by a Northwestern opponent in the shot-clock era -- and allowed the Wildcats' largest margin of victory in school history.
The Wildcats opened the second half with a 12-4 run capped by back-to-back 3-pointers by Law and Ryan Taylor to extend their lead to 56-31. A dunk by Barret Benson pushed the Northwestern lead to 30 points with 10:55 to go, and the Wildcats led by as many as 43 points after a 3-pointer by Aaron Falzon with 1:05 remaining.
Northwestern shot 50.8 percent and sank a season-high 13 3-pointers. The Wildcats also finished with a 39-30 rebounding edge and had 23 assists on their 33 field goals.
--Field Level Media
Chicago St. | Northwestern | |
Travon Bell 12 | Scoring | Miller Kopp 17 |
Rob Shaw 4 | Assists | Ryan Greer 5 |
Rob Shaw 7 | Rebounds | Dererk Pardon 7 |
Anthony Harris 7 | Free Throws Made | Vic Law 3 |
Travon Bell 2 | Steals | Vic Law 3 |
Anthony Harris 1 | Blocks | Barret Benson 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Chicago St. | 46 | 31.2 | 2-11 | 14-22 | 8 | 25 | 4 | 5 | 18 |
Northwestern | 88 | 50.8 | 13-34 | 9-14 | 23 | 33 | 6 | 8 | 8 |