Nov. 20, 2011

Box Score |  Photo Gallery 

Site: Charleston, S.C. (TD Arena)
Score: Northwestern 80, Seton Hall 73
Records: NU (4-0), Seton Hall (3-1)
Next NU Event: Friday, Nov. 25 -- vs. Stony Brook (Welsh-Ryan Arena), Noon
Tickets: Available at NUsports.com or by calling 888-GO-PURPLE.
Promotions: Take a Kid to the Game Day. Each paid adult receives two tickets for kids in the 8th grade and under for FREE! (Season tickets are considered paid adult tickets) Tickets must be purchased on the day of the game. Halftime performance by Zooperstars.

CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Tournament MVP Drew Crawford scored 27 points as Northwestern defeated Seton Hall 80-73 Sunday evening at TD Arena to capture the title at the DirecTV Charleston Classic presented by Foster Grant.

John Shurna, who was also named to the all-tournament team, contributed 19 points and seven rebounds. Herb Pope scored a game-high 32 points for the Pirates.

It is the Wildcats' second tournament title in three years after winning the Chicago Invitational Challenge in 2009. This time, NU had to win three games to win the championship as it also defeated LSU and Tulsa.

The teams battled back-and-forth through the opening 11 minutes of the first half before Northwestern made its move. With the score tied 18-18 went on a 10-2 run over a three-minute span to take a 28-20 lead. Luka Mirkovic, who had eight points in the opening stanza, got loose under the basket three times during the run.

Seton Hall answered with five straight points to get back within three and the Pirates went to their zone defense to try to counteract the Wildcats defensively. However, the approach didn't work as Crawford played the role of one-man zone-buster. The junior forward scored eight points over the last 4:23 of the half, including 3-pointers on consecutive possessions, as NU ended the stanza on a 12-5 run to take a 40-30 lead at the break.

Crawford hit seven of nine baskets over the opening 20 minutes of play, scoring 17 points. It marked his third half in the last five in which he scored at least 17 points in a half, dating back to the second half of the LSU game on Thursday.

NU shot a blistering 61.5 percent (16-26) in the first half to 42.3 percent (11-26) for Seton Hall.

Northwestern's lead was 12 five minutes into the second half, but back-to-back 3-pointers started a 15-0 run for the Pirates as Aaron Cosby's trey out of the corner gave Seton Hall a 55-54 lead with 9:50 left.

Another basket increased the Pirates' lead to three before Shurna finally stopped the run with a triple to tie the game.

Trailing 67-65 with four minutes to go, the Wildcats made winning plays down the stretch, just like they did in their previous two games of the tournament.

After Shurna hit two free throws to tie the game, Davide Curletti blocked a shot at the rim on the other end to force a shot clock violation. Crawford then hit a tough baseline jumper with 2:26 remaining to give NU a 69-67 lead. Two makes from the charity stripe by Curletti increased the Wildcats' lead to four.

Pope cut the advantage back to two with a basket on the other end, but Shurna make two free throws with 1:30 remaining to push the lead back to four. Northwestern got Seton Hall to miss a 3-point try and Alex Marcotullio continued the clutch free throw shooting with two makes with 1:13 left to push the lead to six.

Pope scored on a putback with 55.4 seconds remaining to get the Pirates back within four, but Crawford hit another difficult jumper with 28.9 seconds to go and Shurna came up with a steal and a slam to deliver the dagger.

NU shot 56 percent from the field (28-50) in the contest and made 17 of 19 tries from the free throw line. Mirkovic joined Crawford and Shurna in double figures with 12 points.

Northwestern returns to action at noon Friday as it host Stony Brook at Welsh-Ryan Arena. It's Take a Kid to the Game Day with each paid adult allowing two kids in the 8th grade and under to get in free. Tickets must be purchased on the day of the game (season ticket holders are an exception).

2011 Charleston Classic All-Tournament Team
Drew Crawford, Northwestern (MVP)
John Shurna, Northwestern
Herb Pope, Seton Hall
Carl James, Saint Joseph's
Anthony Hickey, LSU

••••••

Be the first to know what's going on with the 'Cats -- Follow @NU_Sports on Twitter, become a fan of Northwestern Athletics on Facebook! and subscribe to the NU Sports Express e-newsletter to receive the latest news, schedule updates and video and to interact with NU. For more information on following specific Northwestern teams online, visit our Social Media page!