March 16, 2011

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Audio: Postgame Press Conference | Postgame Extra

EVANSTON, Ill. - John Shurna had 25 points and Michael Thompson added 20 as Northwestern claimed a 70-61 win over the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Wednesday night in a National Invitation Tournament First Round game at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

Milwaukee trimmed a 15-point deficit down to six in the second half but could get no closer.

In the end, the Panthers (19-14) could not overcome an 18-0 first-half run by Northwestern.

Tony Meier had 19 points while Kaylon Williams and Anthony Hill added 11 apiece for Milwaukee, which wound up shooting 45 percent for the game while limiting Northwestern to 37.9 percent from the floor.

The Panthers also made 11 three-pointers, but the Wildcats made 12 and claimed a 14-4 edge at the foul line. Plus Northwestern (19-13) had 16 offensive rebounds and forced 16 Milwaukee turnovers.

"It came down to free throws and a few more extra opportunities," UWM head coach Rob Jeter said. "That's offensive rebounds and a few turnovers - that was the difference. Both teams were going to shoot the three because both teams were going to play some zone to make it difficult on the inside. We could just not get to the free throw line."

Northwestern was also able to hold off Milwaukee thanks to the great play of its two best players. When Milwaukee cut the lead to six with five minutes left, Shurna and Thompson each hit threes on the Wildcats next two possessions to restore a double-digit advantage.

"They are at home and they are very talented players, and that's what teams do and that's what good players do," Jeter said. "They were very patient and just made that extra pass and that extra pass. They hit timely shots."

The Panthers led 16-13 after a three-point play by Hill with 12:47 remaining. That's when the Wildcats started their burst, holding Milwaukee without a basket for nearly 10 minutes. A follow-up basket by Drew Crawford made it 26-16 and another Crawford basket pushed the lead to 31-16 with 4:28 remaining.

Milwaukee finally snapped its scoreless streak on a three by Meier with 2:53 left. A pair of free throws by Hill brought the Panthers within eight at 34-26 before Northwestern pushed the lead back out to 12 at the break.

A Meier basket pulled Milwaukee within nine early in the second half and the Panthers were still within nine on a three by Tone Boyle that made it 47-38 with 13:40 left. The Wildcats eventually extended the lead back out to 15 but Milwaukee had another run in it.

This time, two threes from Meier sandwiched around a three from Williams got the Panthers within 62-56 with 5:00 left, and Milwaukee again fought back to within 68-61 on a Williams three with 1:48 remaining. The Panthers then had three chances to get within four points but saw all three shots rattle off, ending their hopes of a comeback.

"It was just us trying to get a pace or a rhythm to their zone," Jeter said of the first-half dry spell. "I thought in the second half we made a few adjustments and I thought, looking at our shooting percentage for the second half, our guys did a nice job of making those adjustments. But a few timely shots and a few turnovers there ... we had three shots at it to cut it to four which would have made it a little more interesting, but we just couldn't get that one shot to go in."