Cats’ Corner: Your source for NU basketball

John Shurna and Northwestern showed no slowing down after a nine-day break for exams last week.

The freshman forward started a career night by scoring a layup on a backdoor cut along the baseline and hitting NU’s first seven points. Shurna went on to score a career-high 20 points. He also added eight rebounds to pace the Wildcats in a 77-62 win over UMKC on Monday at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

UMKC did not make things easy for NU (7-1) throughout the game. The Cats took the early lead, but the Kangaroos (4-8) kept the game tight. They closed the deficit to four before the Cats extended the lead to nine at halftime. NU came out of the locker room and put the game comfortably out of reach. UMKC cut the lead under 10 points a few times, but a strong second half from junior forward Kevin Coble and the continued effort from Shurna closed the door.

Coble finished the game 22 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots. Sophomore guard Michael Thompson broke out with a season-high 17 points and had six assists as NU shot 48.3 percent (28-of-58) from the floor.

Blocked shots were a key for the Cats especially early in the game as the Kangaroos attacked the basket and came up empty. NU had 10 blocks in holding UMKC to 40.7 percent shooting (24-of-59). The Kangaroos had problems mounting a serious run past the Cats’ defense.

NU next travels to Stanford on Saturday.

By Matt Forman

With a minute and a half remaining in Northwestern’s non-conference game against UC Riverside on Monday, fans started filing out of Welsh-Ryan Arena to a calm 13-point victory.

Those fans should have stayed an extra few seconds to see the most exciting play of the game.

As the Highlanders moved down the court for a quick hitting 3-point shot, freshman forward John Shurna came out of nowhere and blocked Sean Cunningham’s long-range attempt.

Shurna caught his own block, drove the length of the floor and layed a perfect finger roll into the basket while getting fouled. The 6-foot-8 freshman connected on the free throw, providing the Wildcats’ final point of the game, en route to the 59-43 win.

Shurna provided the games’ highlight-reel play, but it was his contribution on the backboard that made the biggest difference.

“We haven’t traditionally been a good rebounding team, so I was just proud to see that they didn’t get too many extra shots on us,” coach Bill Carmody said. “That has plagued us the last couple of years.”
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Northwestern’s lethargy on offense finally came back to bite them. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi has closed a 22-point deficit to 10 points with about seven minutes to play.

The Wildcats managed to keep the Islanders from getting any closer and held on to win 66-48.

NU fell into the trap of taking quick shots and staying on the perimeter. The Islanders took advantage of turnovers too when the Cats drive inside. It honestly feels like NU and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi started playing pick-up basketball with players trying to get their own shots rather than work through the system.

The defense struggled to get stops as the offense has completely flatlined. After a timeout with about seven minutes left, energy-provider John Shurna was sent back into the game.

Shurna seems to be the only one who can create offense as the game gets uglier and uglier. But the Cats began to pull away again, taking a 16 point lead with 2:15 left. The Islanders just could not muster enough scoring to completely erase the deficit.

There is no let up on offense early in the second half as the Cats continue to get the ball deep into the post through their offense. The teams are going up and down as the lead hovers around 20. The Wildcats have eased up on the defensive pressure as individuals begin asserting themselves.

The teams are exchanging baskets as NU’s lead hovers around 20 points. Neither team has made any serious run in the early stages of the second half.

John Shurna has continued his strong play and Kevin Coble is starting to assert himself more to maintain a comfortable lead. Shurna has 13 points and 6 rebounds while Coble leads the team with 16 points.

Kyle Rowley has had a couple good looks right around the basket that he has been unable to finish. The freshman center was advised before a timeout to slow down by senior Craig Moore.

Rowley has been rushing offensively, especially around the basket. Rather than collecting himself and rising for a finish, he seems to want to get the ball up on the backboard and rim as quickly as possible. He has gotten in really deep in bad angles to do this. Rowley only has two points so far tonight.

1. Northwestern must rebound tonight to win.

The Wildcats won the rebounding battle in their opener against Central Arkansas on Sunday. Tonight might be a tougher challenge. Despite fielding a small lineup, the Islander are averaging 40.5 rebounds per game in two outings. Chicago native Demond Watt is pulling down 9.5 rebounds per game this season.

For the first time in a while, NU has the bigger team. Center Kyle Rowley needs to be a bigger force on the boards and starting forward John Shurna needs to recover from a zero rebounding performance in Sunday’s game. If Kevin Coble leads the team in rebounding again tonight, the Cats might be in trouble.

2. The defense must continue to put pressure on the ball and on the perimeter.

With a bigger lineup in tonight’s game, the guards can be aggressive on the perimeter trying to force steals and turnovers. The press will set the tone and force Texas A&M-Corpus Christi into tough situations. The pressure worked in Sunday’s game as the Cats held the Bears to 25 percent shooting and just 39 points. NU needs a repeat of its stifling defensive performance to gain a similar result tonight.

3. Don’t overlook Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

The Cats have a history of losing to teams from non-major — or even non-mid major conferences — in the past. This is the kind of trap game after a strong opening effort that NU could lose if the team does not play its hardest.

If the Cats focus and play their game and dictate the tempo of the game on offense and defense, this should be an easy win.

Keep it here for updates from Welsh-Ryan Arena throughout tonight’s game.

NORTHWESTERN WILDCATS (1-0) vs. TEXAS A&M-CORPUS CHRISTI ISLANDERS (1-1)

Place/Time: Welsh-Ryan Arena/Today, 7:00 PM
Last NU win vs. Texas A&M Corpus-Christi: Feb. 14, 2005 at Welsh-Ryan Arena, 59-51.

NU Player to Watch: John Shurna. After scoring 17 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in an exhibition game against Robert Morris (Ill.) College, the freshman forward scored six points and did not have a rebound in the season opener against Central Arkansas.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Player to Watch: Justin Reynolds is the team’s top returning scorer and is aveaging 9.5 points per game and 4.0 rebounds per game. He had eight points and five boards against Illinois on Sunday.

NU wins if: the Wildcats keep pressure on the Islanders defensively and dictate the pace of play by creating turnovers.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi wins if: the Islanders can crash the boards and force the Cats to pay more attention to rebounding than to their pressure defense.

AT THE BUZZER: Senior Craig Moore’s two 3-point makes in Sunday’s game tied him for the all-time lead in school history with Vedran Vukusic. Moore has made 212 3-point field goals in his career. Vukusic still leads Moore by 25 attempts in the school record book.

Daily prediction: NU 65, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 52