UC Riverside came out of the locker room with a little spunk. The Highlanders closed the Wildcat lead to 13. But Northwestern quickly squashed the short comeback.

Junior guard Craig Moore got a steal at midcourt and found sophomore forward Mike Capocci on the other side. The pass was too much for the defender as he tripped and Capocci threw down a thunderous layup on top of him for a 17-point lead.

The Cats extended the lead to 18 at 45-27 with 11:52 left.

NU has found some more success by working the ball inside-out. Both teams have gotten to the line a little more as the teams have tried attacking the basket a little more.

The Cats’ defense just simply looks to be too much. The pressure in the backcour is starting to wear on UC Riverside and they are struggling to find holes in the halfcourt.

That does not even begin to mention the huge rebounding advantage NU has enjoyed in this half. It seems nearly every other miss on offense falls into the hands of a Cats player. They have a 10-rebound edge and have seven offensive boards.

If this keeps up, the Highlanders will not be able to battle back.