Dec. 3, 2008

Box Score |  Photo Gallery 

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Senior guard Craig Moore scored a team-high 20 points and a pivotal 8-point scoring streak in the second half by sophomore Ivan Peljusic lifted Northwestern to a 73-59 win against Florida State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge at Welsh-Ryan Arena Wednesday night. It was the 200th career win for NU head coach Bill Carmody, who has Northwestern off to its first 5-1 start since 2001-02.

With the Seminoles leading by one and 16 minutes left to play, Peljusic electrified the spectators at Welsh-Ryan Arena with a trio of game-changing baskets. First, he broke ahead of the pack for a two-handed slam that gave the 'Cats a one-point advantage. After FSU answered with a dunk of its own, Peljusic knocked down a three from the top of the key over the long, outstretched arms of Chris Singleton to reclaim the lead.

On NU's ensuing possession, Peljusic again leaked out for a long pass from junior Kevin Coble and finished a tough layup while drawing a foul, giving Northwestern a 49-44 lead and bringing the crowd to its feet entering the under-16 media timeout.

From there, Northwestern managed to keep control of the game thanks in part to 11 second-half points by Moore and a game-high seven assists by Coble, who also had 15 points and 8 rebounds.

A reverse layup by Coble with 1:45 remaining put NU up by 15 and effectively sealed the victory for the 'Cats.

In helping deal FSU its first loss of the year, Peljusic scored all 10 of his points in the second half off the bench for Northwestern.

Florida State (7-1) struggled all night shooting from 3-point range, connecting on just 1-of-8 long-distance shots in the first half and 6-of-23 (26.1 percent) for the game. NU hit on 9-of-17 threes (53.6 percent) on the night.

Despite FSU's size advantage down low, NU grabbed 18 offensive rebounds, led by John Shurna with four, while out-rebounding the Seminoles 41-33 overall.

The action was fast and furious in the opening minutes of the first half as both teams exchanged a flurry of baskets and blocked shots. A 3-pointer by Shurna and layup by freshman Kyle Rowley helped give NU a 7-6 advantage, but FSU quickly regained the lead off a layup by the 7-foot-1-inch Solomon Alabi.

The 'Cats and Seminoles continued to get up and down the floor quickly but clamped down on defense as neither team scored for more than three minutes. Moore broke the drought with an NBA-three from the left wing, which was followed on the next possession by a Shurna layup off a backdoor pass from Coble to give Northwestern a 16-15 advantage with 8:15 showing on the clock.

FSU made a run to open an eight-point lead, but a jumper by Coble, a put-back by Jeff Ryan and a 3-pointer by Moore on consecutive possessions helped NU keep the game close heading to the intermission.

Senior guard Toney Douglas led all scorers with 21 points.

NU is back in action at home Saturday against local rival DePaul at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are available at NUsports.com or by calling 847-491-CATS.

The Team

2011-12 Viewbook

Welsh-Ryan Arena

Bill Carmody Basketball Camps

Buy Tickets Online Here!

Multimedia

Photo Galleries

Big Ten Tournament Central