Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Indiana
Wildcats Hang On Against Hoosiers, 63-59
2/25/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb 25, 2004
EVANSTON, Ill. - Vedran Vukusic scored 23 points, and Northwestern held off a second-half rally by Indiana to defeat the Hoosiers 63-59 Wednesday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
The win was NU's fifth in its last seven games, and it marked the second straight year the 'Cats knocked off the Hoosiers at home -- the first time that has happened since the 1969-70 seasons. In addition, NU guaranteed itself a winning record at home in conference play (NU is now 5-1 at Welsh-Ryan vs. Big Ten opponents) for the second time in three seasons.
Vukusic, a junior, made his first three 3-point attempts and shot a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line to lead NU to a .500 overall record (12-12), including a 7-6 mark in the Big Ten Conference for the second time in three seasons. The Wildcats will enter this weekend's game at nationally ranked Illinois in a tie for fourth place in the conference.
"Vukusic is a tough match-up for us," said Indiana head coach Mike Davis, whose team fell to 12-13, 6-8 Big Ten. "If we had faced him before (in our last meeting), we would have known better than to leave him open."
Senior Jitim Young added 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting for the Wildcats, while sophomore teammate Mohamed Hachad had nine points and was once again a defensive catalyst with four steals. Sophomore T.J. Parker played all 40 minutes and went 4-of-4 from the line, including two free throws near the end that sealed the victory.
Bracey Wright paced the Hoosiers with 17 points, despite shooting 0-of-8 from 3-point range and 5-of-17 overall. Marshall Strickland threw in 14 points, and Patrick Ewing Jr. grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds.
Northwestern used a 14-4 run midway through the first half to open up a 28-16 lead, and took a 10-point advantage into the locker room.
"It was important going into the locker room (with a 10-point lead)," said Northwestern head coach Bill Carmody. "Both teams match up against each other well. A lot of times it comes down to hanging in there and being competitive."
Early in the second period the Hoosiers strung together a 14-4 run of their own, capped off by a 3-pointer from Strickland, to tie the game at 39. However, Young came down to hit a layup, and then jumpers by Parker and Hachad -- the latter coming from beyond the arc -- put NU back in charge; the 'Cats never trailed again.
"Mohamed did a good job getting his hands on things,' said Carmody. "It seemed like he was everywhere stripping balls. He is an energy guy, and when he's going it is really important to us."
Indiana closed to within four with a minute to play, but Northwestern hit 8-of-10 free throws down the stretch to keep the Hoosiers at bay.
Northwestern and Illinois -- winners of seven straight -- will tip off Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at Assembly Hall in Champaign.
