National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Northwestern 93, Indiana 81
When: 7:00 PM ET, Sunday, January 9, 2011
Where: Welsh-Ryan Arena, Evanston, Illinois
Officials: # Jim Burr, # Tim Clougherty, # Bert Smith
Attendance: 6719

Northwestern rode hot 3-point shooting and an early surge to its first Big Ten victory of the season, beating Indiana 93-81 on Sunday at Evanston, Ill.

The Wildcats (10-4, 1-3) shot 50 percent (10 of 20) on 3-pointers, ending a three-game losing streak. Northwestern hit five 3-pointers in the first half, and used an early 9-2 run to build a lead it would not relinquish. John Shurna scored five points as the Wildcats built a 16-9 advantage.

Indiana (9-8, 0-4) would come no closer than six points the rest of the way. Leading 40-28 at halftime, and after the Hoosiers pulled within 52-41 with 15:26 left on Christian Watford’s layup, Northwestern broke the game open with a 16-3 surge. The Wildcats hit four 3-pointers during the run, Mike Capocci’s dunk with 11:14 to go making it 68-44.

Shurna, who led the nation in 3-point shooting at 56.3 percent entering the game, finished 4 of 5 from beyond the arc for a game-high 24 points. Luka Mirkovic added 20 points and 12 rebounds.Watford led Indiana with 17 points.

Northwestern plays Wednesday at Iowa. Indiana plays host to Michigan on Saturday.
Top Game Performances
 
Indiana   Northwestern
Christian Watford 17 Scoring John Shurna 24
Verdell Jones III 9 Assists Michael Thompson 8
Christian Watford 7 Rebounds Luka Mirkovic 12
Jordan Hulls 8 Free Throws Made John Shurna 8
Derek Elston 1 Steals JerShon Cobb 1
Verdell Jones III 2 Blocks Drew Crawford 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Indiana 81 46.6 6-14 21-25 18 30 7 2
Northwestern 93 49.1 10-20 27-38 23 29 10 6