Northwestern
9-4
Northern Kentucky
6-7
Team Stats
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
NU Wins Nonconference Finale Over Northern Kentucky, 76-55
12/27/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Tre Demps matched a career high with 23 points as the Northwestern men's basketball team wrapped up nonconference play with a solid 76-55 victory over Northern Kentucky Saturday afternoon at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Freshmen Bryant McIntosh and Scottie Lindsey contributed 15 and 12 points, respectively, with the latter total marking a career best. Alex Olah contributed 7 assists which equaled a career high for the junior center.
The Wildcats connected on all 18 of their free throw attempts in the game, marking the third-best single-game performance in school history.
The Norse were the aggressors to start the contest, making things on the Wildcats offensively. The guests led 9-4 eight minutes into the contest before NU got things going. Six straight by the hosts gave the Wildcats their first lead of the game, 10-9, on Nathan Taphorn's bucket with 10:46 remaining in the opening half.
NKU held a 22-20 advantage on Chad Jackson's jumper with 5:30 to go when Northwestern took control of the game. Demps got to the rim with reckless abandon late in the stanza as he converted on five layups down the stretch, including one at the halftime buzzer, as the 'Cats finished the half on a 16-2 run to take a 36-24 lead at the break.
After the Norse scored the first basket of the second half, Northwestern used an 8-0 run to pull away. Sanjay Lumpkin started the surge with a three-point play before taking a feed from McIntosh in transition for a dunk. Yet another layup for Demps, resulted in a bucket and a foul that pushed Northwestern's advantage to 44-26 and made it a 24-4 run spanning both halves.
Northern Kentucky wouldn't go away, closing to within nine by the midway point of the half. However, the Wildcats used an 18-3 run over the next eight minutes salted away the victory for Northwestern.
Demps' 23 points matched his career-best total against DePaul one year ago to the date. Northwestern dominated on the glass, out-rebounding the Norse by a 42-24 margin, including grabbing 13 offensive boards that led to a 15-3 edge in second-chance points.
The Wildcats is back in action at 11 a.m. Central time Tuesday when it opens Big Ten play at Rutgers. ESPNU is providing live television coverage.
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