Box Score

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EVANSTON, Ill. – The Panther men's basketball team dropped its season opener at Northwestern, 72-55, on Saturday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena in front of 5,182 spectators.

The Panthers (1-0) could not overcome a cold shooting night as they finished the contest hitting 30.2 percent of their shot attempts (16-for-53). EIU also went 2-for-18 from behind the arc.

The Wildcats (1-0) jumped out to a 23-7 lead through the game's first 12 minutes of action, hitting 62 percent (8-for-13) of their field goal attempts while going 4-for-6 from behind the arc. EIU responded by using a 19-6 run to get within three (29-26) with 1:31 left in the half. Northwestern added three consecutive points for a 32-26 advantage with 32 seconds on the clock before Reggie Smith hit a layup in the closing seconds to make the score 32-28 in favor of the Wildcats at intermission.

Northwestern scored seven straight points to start the second half and take a 39-28 advantage before the Panthers went on a 4-0 run to get within seven (39-32) with 14:41 left in the game. The Wildcats outscored the Panthers 28-19 over the next 11 minutes to take a 67-47 advantage with just under four remaining in the contest. Northwestern went 5-for-6 from the foul line in the closing minute and a half to seal the 72-55 victory.

The Wildcats finished the contest going 22-for-29 from the charity stripe while the Panthers only connected on 55.4 percent of their free throw attempts (21-for-38).

Smith paced the Panther offense with 19 points as the junior guard went 4-for-16 from the floor and 11-for-17 from the charity stripe. Sherman Blanford added nine points while Dennis Green chipped in eight points, two assists and a team-high seven rebounds.

Northwestern had six more rebounds (41-35) than EIU, led by Drew Crawford's game-high 11 rebounds. Crawford also led the Wildcats in scoring with 25 points as the senior guard went 8-for-14 from the field. JerShon Cobb dished out a game-high eight assists to go along with nine points for the Wildcats.

EIU outscored Northwestern in the paint, 24-12, and added 21 bench points in the loss. The Panthers had seven steals and forced 12 turnovers, converting the miscues into 11 points.

The Panthers return to action in their home opener on Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. against Olivet Nazarene.