Northwestern
6-4
Central Michigan
7-1
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Hot-Shooting Chippewas Defeat Wildcats, 80-67
12/17/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern was unable to cool off a red-hot shooting night by Central Michigan as the Wildcats dropped an 80-67 decision Wednesday evening at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
The Chippewas shot 58.3 percent from the field in the contest, snapping NU's nation's-best streak of holding 15 straight opponents under 70 points.
Alex Olah and Bryant McIntosh led Northwestern with 12 points apiece, while Sanjay Lumpkin and Dave Sobolewski pitched in with 11 and 10, respectively.
The contest was tied 8-8 early on before the Wildcats' sloppy start finally caught up to them. The Chippewas rattled off seven consecutive points to surge out in front, forcing NU to burn a timeout.
The visitors' lead would grow to eight, 20-12, before Vic Law connected on a 3-pointer. However, Central Michigan scored nine of the next 11 points to extend their advantage to 29-17 with four minutes remaining in the opening stanza.
Northwestern crept back within striking range at the half when Olah's 3-pointer beat the buzzer, giving him 9 points, and bringing the 'Cats within 36-29 at the break.
Sobolewski got the start to begin the second half and quickly drilled a triple that trimmed the deficit to four. NU continued to inch closer with buckets by Bryant McIntosh and Tre Demps closing the Wildcats within 46-43 with just under 15 minutes left and Central Michigan used a timeout.
However, the guests responded with a 10-2 run that pushed their advantage right back up to 11 with 11 minutes to go.
Northwestern was unable to get closer than nine the rest of the way as the defense wasn't able to cool off the Chippewas' offensive attack. Coming off a contest in which it tied a Mid-American Conference record with 20 3-pointers, CMU went 10 of 18 from beyond the arch.
The Wildcats are back in action at 2 p.m. Saturday when they host Western Michigan at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Tickets are available at NUsports.com or by calling 888-GO-PURPLE.
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