SPORTS
Wildcats hold off Seminoles
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Thursday, November 29, 2001
EVANSTON, Ill. (REUTERS) — Winston Blake scored 18 points Wednesday, including a three-pointer with 11 seconds left, as Northwestern held off Florida State 57-50 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Jitim Young added 19 points for Northwestern, which beat Florida State for the first time in three tries. At 4-1, the Wildcats are off to their best start since the 1998-99 season, when they opened 5-1.
Antwuan Dixon and Monte Cummings each had 10 points for Florida State (2-2).
Blake made a 3-pointer to give Northwestern a 50-44 lead with 7:51 left to play. But Cummings and Mike Mathews made back-to-back baskets to pull Florida State within 52-49 with 3:43 left.
The Seminoles and Wildcats traded airballs on their next few possessions, before Florida State got a break. With 1:28 left, Tavaras Hardy fouled Mathews.
But Mathews could only make the second shot, and Blake’s 3 with 11 seconds left gave the Wildcats a small cushion. Young then stole the inbounds pass and scored on a layup to seal the win.
Northwestern got off to a sluggish start, rarely venturing inside. That might have been a good move, considering that’s where Nigel Dixon, Florida State’s 350-pound center, was lurking.
But the Wildcats didn’t have much better luck outside, shooting just 29 percent (4-of-14) from 3-point range. The Seminoles also out-rebounded Northwestern 21-18, including an 8-4 advantage on the offensive glass.
Still, the Wildcats only trailed 28-27 at half. And they wasted little time getting their offense on track early in the second period.
Hardy made a hook shot to start a 13-5 run that gave Northwestern a 40-34 lead with 13:38 to play.
Young, who scored six points during the spurt, capped the run with two free throws.
