• Box score: Northwestern 83, Iowa 64
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EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Opponents know they need to focus on John Shurna and Drew Crawford when they play Northwestern. They might want to pay attention to Dave Sobolewski, too.
The freshman scored a season-high 23 points and Northwestern won its third straight, beating Iowa 83-64 on Thursday night.
Shurna added 17 points, Reggie Hearn scored 16 and all five starters finished in double figures as the Wildcats (15-8, 5-6 Big Ten) came away with an easy victory.
“It’s a great feeling,” Sobolewski said. “And when your teammates are hitting shots too ... it’s real exciting.”
Northwestern built a nine-point halftime lead and then blew this one open, matching its longest conference winning streak since a three-game run late in the 2008-09 season.
Sobolewski passed his previous high by three points. Shurna set the tone in the early going after averaging 26 points in wins over Nebraska and Illinois, and the Wildcats shot 56.3 percent overall while hitting 13 of 25 3-pointers.
“Teams have been keying on John and Drew all year,” said guard Alex Marcotullio, who finished with 13 points and six assists. “It’s time for other players to step up.”
Aaron White led Iowa with 17 points and 12 rebounds, but the Hawkeyes (13-12, 5-7) were simply overmatched. Besides watching Northwestern nail shot after shot, the Hawkeyes committed 18 turnovers in a performance that left coach Fran McCaffery struggling to find words.
“What do you want me to say?” he said.
Actually, he had quite a bit to say. He acknowledged the matchup problems Northwestern causes with its smaller lineup, reliance on the 3-pointer and the Princeton offense.
Even in bad seasons, the Wildcats usually hung in against more talented teams. And they haven’t been bad for a few years.
“It’s a tough lineup to match up to,” McCaffery said. “They’ve got some drivers. They’ve got plenty of shooters, and we play more of a traditional lineup.”
Meanwhile, Matt Gatens insisted Iowa can still make a run. He thought the Hawkeyes were poised to do just that after back-to-back wins over Minnesota and Penn State, but the run screeched to a halt Thursday.
“It’s disappointing,” Gatens said. “The effort, executing the game plan — it’s just disappointing. It was a great opportunity to get to .500 in the league.
“We let it get away, but it’s not over. We have a lot of winnable games on our schedule.”
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Copyright ©2012 Omaha World-Herald®. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, displayed or redistributed for any purpose without permission from the Omaha World-Herald.
