Brenda Bazan photo
The AMVETS team dominated the tournament, defeating the Kane County Sheriff’s Department in the championship game 63-29.

By Larry Peterson
Staff writer
The first Hoops for Troops basketball tournament held a year ago was very successful. The 2nd Annual Hoops for Troops held April 21 and 22 at the Vaughn Athletic Center in Aurora was twice as successful as the first event last year.
The 2012 tournament was increased from eight to 12 teams including: AMVETS Post #0103, Aurora Fire Department, the Police Departments of Aurora, Montgomery, Naperville and Oswego, the Sheriff’s Departments of DuPage, Kane and Kendall County, U.S. Army Recruiters, Home Depot, and the 2nd Battalion 24th Marine Regiment.
There were several competitive games, but the AMVETS team was the class of the tournament and breezed through four games with decisive wins. They had 6-foot-5 and 6-foot-7 big men in the middle who blocked nearly every layup and close-in shots by the opponents.
The AMVETS defeated the Montgomery Police Department 71-25, Oswego Police Department 52-29, Aurora Fire Department 54-39. The most convincing victory was the 63-29 trouncing of the Kane County Sheriff’s Department in the championship game.
The success of this event, sponsored by the Fox Valley Marines Detachment #1233, was no accident. This was the brain-child of a little lady with unlimited energy and drive, Sarah Rashkow, who enlisted the assistance of her husband, Steve.
With lots of leg work, recruiting volunteers and hundreds of phone calls, this couple obtained the support of more than 64 donors and have raised $10,000 and counting. In addition, at least 29 prizes for raffles were donated, which generated more monies for the fund raiser.
Rashow said, “Office Max in Oswego has chosen military charities as their main focus and was a tremendous contributor. They printed tickets and posters, donated and delivered several office equipment prizes for the fund raising event.”
The proceeds from the event will be divided between veterans’ charities, Hope for Tomorrow, Operation Welcome You Home, Illinois, Inc., and a portion will go to the Fox Valley Marines Detachment #1233 to help military and women.
A complimentary and supervised children’s play area was also provided. Parents brought their children to the area directly across from the gym and then went back to enjoy the games.
Due to the huge success of the last two tournaments, the Rashkows have begun preparations for the 3rd Annual Hoops for Troops and assured fans in attendance that it will be held about the same time next year and probably in the same location.
So, if you want to attend some competitive and usually quite physical, exciting basketball games and contribute to a very worthy charity, mark your calendars now for next years’ tournament.

Brenda Bazan photo
Wildcats guard Drew Crawford dunks the basketball towards the end of the first half in his team’s first round win against Akron in the National Invitation Tournament.

By Larry Peterson
Staff writer
EVANSTON — Ya hadda’ see it to believe it! The Northwestern Wildcats defeated the visiting Akron Zips, 76-74, in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) Tuesday, March 13 at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston.
The final score didn’t indicate a rout, but it was for most of the first half. The Zips took an early 4-0 lead. The ‘Cats caught up and the teams traded buckets for five minutes before Northwestern sprinted to a 15-point advantage with 90 seconds left in the first half.
A three and a two by Akron in the final minute cut the ‘Cats lead to 42-34 at the intermission. Northwestern scored the first basket of the second half, but it was amazing to see a 28-minute Wildcat swoon turn a rout into a nail-biter. A 15-4 Zips run in seven minutes saw the visitors take a 51-49 lead.
The teams traded baskets for the rest of the second half which saw the score tied seven times and the lead changed nine times. A jump shot by JerShon Cobb, a tip-in and a long three-pointer by John Shurna in the final two minutes sealed the win for Northwestern.
Two open looks at threes by Akron in the final 30 seconds that didn’t drop could have changed the outcome of the game.
Drew Crawford said, “The final 30 seconds were pretty nerve wracking. We lost so many close games this year.We didn’t want to go down that way.”
Crawford scored 19 of his game-high 27 points in the first half. Shurna tossed in 10 points in the first half and completed a double-double for the game with 23 points, a game-high 11 boards, plus seven assists, two blocks and one steal, Cobb added 11 points in the first 20 minutes and finished with 19 points and three rebounds.
Reggie Hearn had two buckets for four points and Alex Marcotullio hit one trey for three points. Freshman guard Dave Sobolewski, who had been a consistent scorer for most of the season was shut out and went 0 for 12 in the last three games. There was no explanation for the Wildcats lackluster second half after the impressive first half start.
Northwestern head coach Bill Carmody enjoyed the victory, but was not pleased with the second half.
“We really came out to play offensively in the first half and had lots of energy, but we had to hang on for the win. Don’t take anything away from Akron. They are a good basketball team. They won the regular season MAC championship and lost the conference tournament by one point,” Carmody said.
Akron head coach Keith Dambrot was pleased with the Zips comeback, but would have preferred a victory.
“We hadn’t faced a 1-3-1 defense this season and we had a short turn around and preparation after the conference tournament. But I was pleased with the comeback,” Dambrot said.
The ‘Cats lethargic play of the second half carried over in the NIT second round game in Seattle as the University of Washington Huskies drubbed Northwestern 76-55. Other than Shurna with 24 points, the rest of the Wildcats did little more than show up.

Brenda Bazan photo
Members of the West Aurora Blackhawks basketball team celebrate after winning the East Aurora Class 4A Sectional Tournament over the Metea Valley Mustangs March 9.
By Larry Peterson
Staff writer
The West Aurora Boys basketball team won the East Aurora Class 4A Sectional Tournament with an impressive 69-61 victory over the Metea Valley Mustangs Friday, March 9.
The Blackhawks advanced to the championship game with a hard-fought 58-53 overtime win over the No. 1 seed Plainfield East Bengals on Monday, March 5. West Aurora’s rugged defense limited the Bengals 6-foot-9 center, Brian Bennett, who averaged 15 points per game to seven points.
The No. 4 seed Blackhawks outrebounded Plainfield 47 to 35 and outscored the Bengals 12-10 in the extra session.
The Mustangs earned the berth in the championship game with a 60-51 win over Downers Grove South. Metea Valley coach Bob Vozza did a remarkable job in building a winning program in only the second year of varsity competition.
As good a job as Vozza has done, he was at a decided disadvantage going up against the wily veteran Blackhawks mentor Gordie Kerkman, who is in his 36th year coaching the Blackhawks. He has a knack for getting his team to peak at tournament time.
Kerkman said, “We made some pretty poor decisions and took some ill-advised, rushed shots against Plainfield, but we were more patient and played better tonight.”
Glenbard East coach Scott Miller who attended the game said, “We beat West twice during the regular season, but they didn’t play us as tough as they have in this tournament. They really stepped it up a couple of notches.”
Metea Valley, 25-5, took a quick early lead, but it didn’t last long when Blackhawks hot-shooting sophomore point guard Jontrell Walker scored 10 of his team-high 22 points in the first half and led Aurora to a six-point advantage.
The Mustangs cut the deficit to 21-19 with 4:11 left in the half. The Blackhawks closed the second quarter with an 8-2 run to take a 29-21 lead at the intermission. The game featured five lead changes in the first half before West Aurora tightened the defense.
Metea Valley trailed, 36-30, on a three-pointer by Kenny Oldendorf midway through the third quarter. Oldendorf kept his team in the game with a game-high 25 points. The Mustangs couldn’t go on a big scoring spree which they did during the regular season due to the tenacious Blackhawk defense.
West Aurora had a 35-25 rebounding edge, led by Spencer Thomas with a game-high 12 boards and nine points. The Thomas twins, Spencer and Chandler, bulldogs on the boards, play a lot taller than their listed 6-foot-1 height. They were ably assisted by Juwan Starks and Josh McAuley. Starks contributed 18 points and Brandon Gossett came off the bench and added seven points.
The Blackhawks shot a torrid 55 percent from the field while the Mustangs were limited to 38 percent and made only 7 of 14 free throws.
West Aurora, 25-5, advances to the Hinsdale Central Supersectional to face Proviso East, 30-0, in a 7:30 p.m. game, Tuesday, March 13.

Brenda Bazan photo
Northwestern senior forward John Shurna drives down the lane during his team’s loss to Ohio State Feb. 29. Shurna threw up a desperation shot in the waning moments of the game that clanked off the rim.

By Larry Peterson
Staff writer
EVANSTON — The Northwestern Wildcats came within inches of upsetting the No. 10 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes, Wednesday, Feb. 29 at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
After a lackluster first half, the lethargic Wildcats staged a furious comeback with five minutes left in the game. The ‘Cats began to chip away and Alex Marcotullio hit his second three-pointer to tie the score at 73 with 7.7 seconds remaining in the game.
The Buckeyes Aaron Craft rushed the ball down the floor on one dribble and threw a long pass to their team leader, Jared Sullinger, who banked in a layup with 3.1 seconds left on the clock.
John Shurna took an inbounds pass, dribbled past mid-court and saw his 45-foot desperation shot clank off the front rim at the final buzzer. The capacity crowd gave out a collective moan as time expired and Northwestern dropped a 75-73 heart-breaker.
“I thought it had a chance,” Shurna said.
A win may have opened the door for the Wildcats first NCAA Tournament bid. Even though the loss didn’t help their cause, it may not have eliminated the invitation to the Big Dance.
The Wildcats got off to a sluggish start and fell behind as many as 13 points in the first half. Shurna nailed a trey in the final seconds to cut the Buckeye lead to 39-29 at the break.
Down by a dozen late in the game the ‘Cats turned up the defense and went on an offensive surge, led by Drew Crawford, Shurna, and a Marcotullio triple. Their shots began to fall, except for the final attempt at the buzzer.
Following the game, Ohio State head coach Thad Matta was asked if he thought Northwestern deserved a tournament bid. His response was an immediate, “Absolutely. They are a good team, they play hard, they have good three-point shooters, they are difficult to prepare for and they have John Shurna and Drew Crawford.”
Crawford led the late offensive attack with 23 points, 15 coming in the second half. He had four rebounds and three assists. Shurna was a close second with 22 points, three rebounds and three assists. No other Wildcat scored in double figures.
A huge discepancy on the boards was the difference. Northwestern was outrebounded 22-5 in the first half and 44-18 for the game. It was nearly nine minutes into the game before the Wildcats grabbed their first rebound.
Sullinger led the Ohio State offense with 22 points and matched the ’Cats entire rebounding effort with 18, one short of his career high. Deshaun Thomas tossed in 19 points and hauled in 10 boards. Craft added 14 points and Lenzelle Smith Jr. contributed 12 points and three rebounds.
A sullen Bill Carmody, Northwestern head coach, summed it up quietly and quickly.
“They destroyed us on the boards,” Carmody said.
The Wildcats finished the regular season Saturday, March 3 at Iowa with a 70-66 victory in a “must win game.” They fell behind early, rallied in the second half and hung on for the narrow victory to keep a glimmer of hope for an NCAA Tournament bid.

Brenda Bazan photo
Northwestern forward John Shurna is given a hug and a ceremonial basketball by former all-time points record holder by Billy McKinney prior to the start of his team’s game against Michigan.

By Larry Peterson
Staff writer
EVANSTON — On Saturday, February 18, the Northwestern Wildcats defeated the Minnesota Golden Gophers, 64-53, in a game that had great significance. Northwestern, 16-10 overall and 6-8 in the Big Ten improved their slight hopes for an NCAA Tournament bid. The Wildcats have never qualified for the Tournament.
John Shurna, Northwestern’s 6-foot-9 senior forward provided the Welsh-Ryan Arena crowd with a record breaking shot. At the 10:48 mark of the second half, Shurna swished a three-point bucket giving him 1,902 points for his career, breaking the 35-year-old school scoring record of 1,900 points held by Billy McKinney.
The modest Shurna said, “It’s obviously an honor, but more important is that we defended our home court against a tough Minnesota team.”
The Wildcats’ hopes for the NCAA Tournament bid suffered a setback Tuesday, Feb. 21 when they dropped a hotly contested 67-55 overtime showdown with the Michigan Wolverines at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston.
Northwestern trailed by as many as seven points in the first half until they tied the score at 22 with five minutes remaining. With a 9-2 run in the final four minutes the ’Cats took a 31-24 lead at the break.
Michigan scored two quick buckets to open the second half and then they battled on even terms for the next 14 minutes. The Wolverines grabbed a brief one-point lead with four minutes left in regulation.
A trey by Reggie Hearn and a layup by Shurna gave Northwestern a 47-43 lead. A triple by the Wolverines Trey Burk, followed by a Shurna jumper with two minutes left put the ’Cats ahead 49-46. With 1:41 on the clock Tim Hardaway Jr. nailed a three-pointer to knot the score at 49.
After a series of missed shots by both teams, Michigan’s Burk missed a long range attempt at the buzzer and the game went to overtime. The Wolverines rattled off nine straight points in the first three minutes of the extra session while the Wildcats were held scoreless and the issue was no longer in doubt.
Michigan went ahead by 12 points and the win on eight free throws when the Wildcats fouled playing catch-up ball.
Northwestern coach Bill Carmody couldn’t explain the second half letdown. He said, “We came out with energy in the first half, but we didn’t have it in the second half. This would have been a big win for us, but the loss doesn’t knock us out of the box.”
Michigan head coach John Beilein supplied positives for the Wildcats. He said, “I have great respect for Northwestern. They play hard and they have a good basketball team. We had to go to overtime twice to beat them. Change a couple of plays and we could have been 0-2 against them and they’re in the NCAA Tournament. Do they deserve to be in the tournament? Absolutely.”
Another positive was a 67-66 win at Penn State last Saturday. Next up is Ohio State at home Feb. 29, and then the regular season finale at Iowa on Monday, March 5. Finally, the Big Ten Tournament is in Indianapolis, March 8-11.

Brenda Bazan photo
Louisville senior Kyle Kuric led his team to victory, scoring 25 points, including five three-pointers for the Cardinals.

By Larry Peterson
Staff writer
ROSEMONT — The DePaul Blue Demons and the Louisville Cardinals played a barn burner Saturday, Feb. 18 at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont.
DePaul came out runnin’ and gunnin’ and with 5:30 left in the first half had built a 17-point lead. Louisville began the battle back and at halftime trailed by 10, 42-32.
The Cardinals closed the first half with a 15-8 run and opened the second frame with a 16-8 surge and went on to a 90-82 overtime victory.
Within seven minutes in the second half, Louisville tied the score at 50. Then it was a nip and tuck scrum with the teams trading baskets. The score was tied nine times and the lead changed 10 times.
With 51 seconds remaining in the game the Blue Demons trailed 76-72. A Charles McKinney layup on a perfect feed from Brandon Young with one second left tied the score at 77 and sent the game into overtime.
In the overtime session the experienced, 19th ranked Cardinals, opened with a 6-2 run. Two steals by the visitors in the final minute finished any chance of a DePaul comeback.
The Blue Demons played one of their more energized games in the rugged Big East schedule. Young led the hosts with 12 of his 27 game-high points in the first half, hit three treys, had five boards and five assists.
“We came out strong and we came out big,” said Young, who shot 5 for 6 early and finished 10 for 13 with a pair of treys and 5 of 7 free throws.
Cleveland Melvin the Demons leading scorer didn’t have one of his better games, but that was due to the Louisville defensive plan.
Melvin was 7 of 18 from the field, 0 for 1 from three-point range, and he didn’t have a free throw attempt. He chipped in 14 points, hauled in a game-high 10 rebounds and had two assists. Donovan Kirk added 11 points and four boards. DePaul was 6 for 20 from three-pont range and 18 of 27 from the charity stripe.
Kyle Kuric was the big gun for the Cardinals with 25 points including five three-pointers, four rebounds, three assists and three steals. Chris Smith contributed 20 points, seven boards and three assists. Russ Smith scored 16 points, had four boards and four assists.
The Cardinals fed off the support and high energy of a crowd that was predominantly clad in Red. It was one of the largest crowds of the season and probably the most enthusiastic group of fans to visit Allstate Arena.
Louisville head coach Rick Pitino credited DePaul with great effort and attitude.
“This team has probably the best losing character in the Big East. They play their butts off every game and they don’t come away with much at times, but that’s the building process you have to go through,” Pitino said.
Purnell was brought in to build the DePaul basketball program back to respectability and has seen progress and has done a good job.
“The good was that we played at a much higher level than we had been and we put ourselves in a position to win,” Purnell said.
The Blue Demons, 11-15 overall and 2-12 in the Big East, have four regular conference games remaining: at St. John’s Feb. 20, Providence at home Feb. 25, at West Virginia Feb. 28 and Seton Hall at home March 3.

Brenda Bazan photo
Freshman Dave Sobolewski led the Wildcats, scoring 23 points in the victory.

By Larry Peterson
Staff writer
EVANSTON — After missing their first three shots and falling behind 7-0, the Northwestern Wildcats caught fire and trounced the Iowa Hawkeyes, 83-64, Thursday, Feb. 9 at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Two offensive runs sealed the win for the Wildcats. A 19-4 run when they heated up in the first half led to an early double-digit lead and a 38-29 halftime advantage.
Iowa’s woes were self-inflicted early in the second half when they committed six fouls in the first three minutes of the second stanza. Northwestern went to the charity stripe 20 times hitting 15, while the Hawkeyes made seven of nine from the line.
A 9-0 streak in the middle of the second half extended the ‘Cats lead to 21 points to put the game out of reach. Northwestern, 15-8 overall and 5-6 in the Big Ten, saw all of the five starters score in double digits.
All five starters made three, three-pointers, with the exception of junior Drew Crawford, who nailed one from beyond the arc, scored 11 points, pulled down a team-high five rebounds and handed out four assists.
Freshman Dave Sobolewski led the Wildcats with 23 points, was three for three from beyond the arc, had seven assists and four steals. Senior John Shurna tossed in 17 points, grabbed four boards, had four steals and one assist.
Juniors Reggie Hearn and Alex Marcotullio each added 13 and 11 points respectively and Marcotullio had six assists.
“It was a nice team victory,” coach Bill Carmody said. “The scoring was balanced and a lot of guys did good things out there. I felt they had a lot of energy and played well together,”
The Hawkeyes, led by 6-foot-8 freshman Aaron White, cut the Northwestern lead to one point with seven minutes left in the first half, but a flurry of treys by the ‘Cats extended the lead to eight at the intermission.
The Wildcats shot nearly 60 percent from the field and hit 52 percent of its three-point attempts. Iowa shot well from the field, with 60 percent in the first half and 51 percent for the game, but couldn’t match the ’Cats three-point production. Northwestern was outrebounded 29-21.
Even though the Hawkeyes didn’t shoot poorly, Carmody attributed the victory to the 1-3-1 defense. Eighteen turnovers also contributed to their downfall.
“They missed some shots they ordinarily make and I think the 1-3-1 was effective and confused them. We need to get to .500 in the conference to get in the NCAA Tournament,” Carmody said.
The ‘Cats didn’t help their cause when they dropped an 87-77 decision at Purdue on Sunday, Feb.12.
Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery was not happy with the Hawkeyes effort. When he was asked, “Aside from the final score, what disappointed you most?” His reply was, “Pretty much everything. There wasn’t anything good about tonight.
“We practiced on the 1-3-1 for three days and thought we had it down pretty good, but it’s different in game conditions. We were not executing defensively tonight,” McCaffery said.
Northwestern traveled to Indiana for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off Wednesday, Feb. 15 against the Hoosiers. With three of six remaining conference games on the road, the Wildcats hopes for an NCAA bid look rather dim.

Brenda Bazan photo
St. John’s freshman Amir Garrett attempts a layup while being defended by two DePaul players.

By Larry Peterson
Staff writer
ROSEMONT — The DePaul Blue Demons built a 12-point lead in the first half and a nine-point lead in the second half against the visiting St. John’s Red Storm at the Allstate arena in Rosemont, Wednesday, Feb. 1.
But DePaul, 11-10 overall and 2-7 in the big East, faded in the final minutes in both halves and St. John’s, 10-12 overall and 4-6 in the Big East, walked off with an 87-81 victory over the Blue Demons.
DePaul head coach Oliver Purnell said, “I liked our approach and energy in the first half until the final four minutes. We started well, but they hurt us with the full court press late in the half.
“We played better defense in the second half and then got lazy and threw lob passes and missed free throws late that could have tied it. We just can’t maintain consistency for the whole game.”
The teams played on even terms for the first seven minutes. Cleveland Melvin, Brandon Young and Moses Morgan led a 15-5 DePaul run and the Demons were up 31-19 with four minutes left in the first half.
St. John’s came out with a full court pressure defense and dealt DePaul a shut out, while Red Storm guard D’Angelo Harrison led the visitors on an 11-0 run and trailed 31-30 at the intermission.
The Blue Demons came on strong in the second half and led by nine, 40-31 in the first two minutes. The teams traded baskets and DePaul maintained an eight-point, 59-51 lead with 12 minutes left in the game. St. John’s turned up the defense, Harrison carried the offense, and the Red Storm tied the score at 59 midway through the second frame.
St. John’s continued the pressure, outrebounding DePaul 15-9, and began to pull away. The score was tied at 64 with 7½ minutes remaining and the Red Storm took the lead and never trailed from that point on.
The Blue Demons came within three points with one minute left, but four missed free throws thwarted the comeback. Four successful tosses from the charity stripe by Harrison in the final 30 seconds sealed the victory for St. John’s.
Harrison finished with a game-high 29 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals. God’sgift Achiuwa (yes, that is his name) collected 15 markers for the Storm. Phil Greene added 14 points, four boards, six assists and three steals.
Cleveland Melvin set the pace for DePaul with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Moses Morgan contributed 19 points and four boards. Brandon Young had 13 points, four rebounds and a game-high 11 assists.
Purnell said, “I liked our approach in the first half. I liked the pace of the game, but we didn’t handle their pressure very well. Our defense was pretty good, except on Harrison. We lost him a few times and he hurt us.”
Mike Dunlap, interim coach filling in for Steve Lavin who is recovering from prostate cancer surgery, was pleased with the final result and complimented the Blue Demons on their improvement.
“DePaul is a young club, but coach Purnell is doing a good job with them. We are even younger and we have told our players we have complete confidence in them and we are going to stick with them. We had five freshmen on the floor at times,” Dunlap said.

Brenda Bazan photo
Purdue forward Robbie Hummel scores with 8.1 seconds left to put the Boilermakers up for good.

By Larry Peterson
Staff writer
EVANSTON — The Northwestern Wildcats men’s basketball team lost another heartbreaker at home. The Purdue Boilermakers invaded Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston and eked out a devastating 58-56 victory Saturday, Jan. 28.
Northwestern, 12-8 overall, 2-6 in the Big Ten, has lost seven of its last nine games and are 0-3 in games lost by two points or less during that disappointing stretch.
Neither team could get its offense in gear last Saturday and both team’s big guns had a cold first half. Robbie Hummel was limited to one of four from the field for two points and John Shurna tallied five points.
Shurna finished with 15 points, seven boards, four assists, three blocked shots and one turnover. Hummel who finished with 11 points was outscored by Shurna, but he hit the game-winner in the final seconds for the win.
Forward Drew Crawford took up the slack for Northwestern with 11 first half points and ended up with a game-high 23 points, eight rebounds, and two assists, but was guilty of four turnovers. Guards Terrone Johnson and Rynne Smith each tossed in six points for Purdue, 15-7 overall and 5-4 in the Big Ten.
The score was tied at 13 midway through the first half, but an 8-1 run in the next three minutes gave the Boilers a seven point edge. Purdue reserve Anthony Johnson nailed a triple at the buzzer to give the visitors a 26-22 advantage at the intermission.
The Boilermakers took a nine-point lead with a 6-2 run to open the second half. Northwestern responded with 12-2 run and led 40-36 at the 12-minute mark. The teams traded buckets for the next 10 minutes and the score was tied at 56 with 45 seconds remaining in the game.
Hummel hit a short jumper with 8.1 seconds left. After an immediate timeout, the ‘Cats freshman guard Dave Sobolewski raced up the floor looking for Crawford for the final shot. The Purdue defense foiled the plan by doubling up on Crawford. Sobolewski found Shurna open well behind the three-point arc and a desperation fling by Shurna fell well short as the final buzzer sounded.
Purdue head coach Matt Painter, in a timeout in the final minute, planned a screen to set up Hummel and his strategy worked to perfection.
“When you have a guy like Rob you want the ball in his hands at crunch time to make the decision or the shot.
“We were outrebounded 37-23 and that ususally results in a loss, but we took care of the ball and limited turnovers,” Painter said.
The Purdue staff, realizing Crawford had the hot hand, out-guessed the ‘Cats and the double-team on Crawford produced the narrow victory.
Northwestern coach Bill Carmody said, “We didn’t get what we intended to get. But that play didn’t cost us the game. We had 16 turnovers and they had five. That was the difference in the game.”
The Wildcats, 2-6 in the Big Ten, were one game ahead of last place Penn State. They will play Nebraska at home Thursday, Feb. 2 before traveling to Illinois Sunday, Feb. 5.

Brenda Bazan photo
Huskie freshman Abdel Nader led all scorers with a career-high 28 points in Northern Illinois’ loss to Ball State.

By Larry Peterson
Staff writer
DEKALB — The Northern Illinois Huskies men’s basketball team played 16 minutes of solid, competitive basketball against the Ball State Cardinals in the first half Saturday, Jan. 21 at the Convocation Center in DeKalb.
When the season isn’t going well, the ball just doesn’t seem to bounce your way. That was the case in the final four minutes for NIU.
With the score tied at 26 and four minutes remaining in the first half, Ball State went on a 9-2 run and the momentum carried over into the second half which enabled the visitors to come away with a 75-65 victory over the hapless Huskies.
Neither team led by more than three early in the game until a five-point burst by Abdel Nader gave NIU a 21-16 lead with eight minutes to play before the intermission.
Northern Illinois had the ball with 30 seconds remaining and held for the final shot of the first frame. On a missed jump shot by Nader with five seconds left, the Cardinals senior guard Randy Davis grabbed the rebound on the run. He crossed the center line with two dribbles and drained a long three-pointer at the buzzer.
The Huskies trailed 34-28 and with a made bucket, the halftime score would have read 34-30. With the fortunate bounce for Ball State and the buzzer-beater, the result was a five-point turn-around, a 37-28 halftime advantage and a momentum swing.
To open the second half, Northern Illinois scored on a fast break bucket off a Cardinal miss. Ball State, riding the first half momentum, went on a 5-0 run in the next two minutes to take a 42-30 edge and stretched the lead to 15 points, 50-35, with 12 minutes remaining in the game.
The Huskies regrouped and at the midway point of the second half trailed by 10, 50-40. A 5-0 NIU run cut the Ball State lead to five with eight minutes remaining in the game. But NIU was unable to match the Ball State firepower down the stretch. Nader led the second half charge with 13-straight points, but the Cardinals matched Nader shot-for-shot.
A put-back by Huskie junior guard Tony Nixon cut the Cardinal lead to 65-58 with 2:15 left to play, but that was as close as Northern Illinois would come as they were unable to get defensive stops in the closing minutes.
Both teams were 8 for 19 from three-point range. Ball State made two more free throws than the Huskies and four more deuces.
Nader led all scorers with a career and game-high 28 points, had four blocked shots and one assist. Aksel Bolin, 6-foot-7 sophomore forward, was second high with eight points and pulled down a team-high eight rebounds.
The Cardinals had balanced scoring with four players in double figures, led by 6-foot-9 forward Jarrod Jones with 17 points and eight boards.
An upbeat Mark Montgomery, head coach of the Huskies, said, “We were resilient all night. They had us down by 15 and we cut it down to five. Abdel Nader had a big night, Aksel [Bolin] got us going in the first half. You have to give Ball State credit. They stepped up and made some tough shots.”
Ball State head coach Billy Taylor, a former West Aurora star and graduate, complimented his team and coach Montgomery.
“We fought hard, tightened up our defense and the four-minute run provided momentum, which we carried through the second half. Mark Montgomery is doing a good job. We went through a rebuilding period and it is tough,” Taylor said.
Northern Illinois will play Kent State in the MAC East, Wednesday, Jan. 25.