Nathan Taphorn led a balanced attack with 18 points as Northwestern preserved its perfect home record with an 83-49 non-conference victory over New Orleans on Sunday at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

Northwestern (7-2) won its fourth straight and improved to 6-0 at home as Scottie Lindsey scored 16 points, Gavin Skelly had 14 and Vic Law added 11.

Erik Thomas had 17 points and 10 rebounds while Travin Thibodeaux added 10 as the Privateers (4-4) fell to 1-4 on the road.

Northwestern never trailed and used an 11-2 run over a 3 minute 43 second span to open a double-digit lead 18-7 by the 10:17 mark. The Wildcats went on to a 42-22 halftime led behind Lindsey's 13 points.

The Wildcats put the game further out of reach early in the second half, opening with a 22-2 run for a 65-24 lead with 12:57 to play.

Northwestern shot 27-of-61 (44.3 percent) from the field and went 9-of-25 (36.0 percent) from past the 3-point arc. New Orleans was 18-of-49 for 36.7 percent.

The Wildcats are now 3-0 all-time against the Privateers and 11-1 against current members of the Southland Conference.

Northwestern announced Sunday that forward Aaron Falzon underwent season-ending knee surgery. He had just three appearances and 20 total minutes this season after playing in 21 games and starting 29 last year while averaging 8.4 points per game.

The Wildcats host Chicago State on Wednesday and meet Dayton on Saturday at the United Center. New Orleans entertains Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday.