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 The Wildcats senior guard scored a season-high 26 points and added
10 rebounds for his third double-double as Northwestern beat
Mississippi Valley State 86-64 in a nonconference match at
Welsh-Ryan Arena.
"I just told him he was a warrior," Collins said. "I've been telling
our guys from Day One that I want them to have the urgency that Drew
Crawford has every day."
The Wildcats (6-5) won their second straight as they returned to
action following an eight-day break for final exams.
Northwestern was without junior guard JerShon Cobb, the team's No. 2
scorer who's listed as day-to-day after spraining an ankle in
practice last Thursday.
"With Jershon out (Crawford) took on the challenge and led us in
every way. He got every big rebound when we needed it, made his free
throws and played a great game."
But he didn't do it alone.
Northwestern center Alex Olah and guard Trey Demps each scored 18
points, and forward Sanjay Lumpkin collected 13 points and 10
rebounds as the Wildcats won their second straight and finished with
their second-best shooting night of the season.
Northwestern made 29 of 54 attempts from the field (53.7 percent).
Crawford moved into seventh on Northwestern's all-time scoring list
with 1,576 career points, passing Kevin Rankin, who had 1,575 points
from 1991-94.
"The biggest thing we have to do is play offense as a team and that
doesn't necessarily have to be me scoring," said Crawford, who also
recorded five assists. "But I'm always comfortable with the ball in
my hands."
Forward James Currington had 14 points and 13 rebounds for
Mississippi State, which saw its two-game winning streak end. Guard
Cameron Dobbs had 12 points for the Delta Devils, and guard DeAngelo
Priar added 10.
"The play of the game was when Drew Crawford in the latter part of
the second half literally sacrificed his body and landed on his back
for that ball and got a timeout," said Mississippi Valley State
coach Chico Potts. "I had to congratulate him right there. ... To be
successful, you have to have players — especially veteran players — to make those kind of play."
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The Wildcats (6-5) took control midway through the opening
half and maintained a double-digit lead most of the rest of the
way. However, they struggled to put away the pesky Delta Devils
(3-7) until a late 8-2 run opened an 80-60 lead with 3:36 to
play.
After four early lead changes, a Crawford layup put Northwestern
ahead for good at 10-8 with 14:53 to play in the first half. The
Wildcats extended the advantage to 28-18 as forward Nathan
Taphorn's 3-pointer capped a 10-2 run.
Northwestern's lead hit 16 with 3:18 left in the half on Olah's
jumper in the paint.
The teams traded 3-pointers in the final five seconds — including a successful buzzer-beater from two steps behind the
center stripe by Priar as time expired.
The Wildcats, who led 44-34 at halftime, had their best first
half of shooting since Nov. 20 against Illinois-Chicago.
Northwestern shot 18-for-32 (56.3 percent) before the break
Monday.
Northwestern now leads the series 4-1. The teams also met in
nonconference play in 2012, an 81-68 Wildcats victory at
Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Northwestern hosts Brown on Sunday and closes 2013 and the
nonconference season on Dec. 27 at home against DePaul.
NOTES: Northwestern returned to action after an eight-day break
for final exams. The Wildcats beat Western Michigan 51-35
victory in their last outing on Dec. 7. ... Northwestern F Drew
Crawford entered the game averaging 14.7 points and 7.3
rebounds, one of just three players ranking in the Big Ten's top
15 in scoring and rebounding. ... The Delta Devils played for
just the second time in 17 days. They will be idle for another
nine days until they play road games Dec. 27 and Dec. 28 against
Washington and Washington State, respectively. ... Mississippi
Valley State redshirt freshman G Jordan Washington started his
fourth consecutive game. He scored a career-high 19 points in an
89-81 victory over NAIA Division I Tougaloo College on Dec. 7.
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