St. John's hands Northwestern 1st loss [Daily Northwestern]

Northwestern entered the locker room Tuesday night up by three, just 20 minutes away from winning the Madison Square Garden Holiday Festival Championship, yet the Wildcats were unable to maintain their halftime lead against a physical St. John's team, falling 85-69.

"In the first half, they were scoring and we were scoring," coach Bill Carmody said. "Then, the second half, they really wiped us out. We couldn't get anything going."

And so despite 28 points from junior forward John Shurna, NU found itself watching as the Red Storm celebrated a win that had looked to be in the Cats' grasp. By the time "New York, New York" played over the public address system, NU was nowhere to be seen.

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http://www.dailynorthwestern.com/men-s-basketball-northwestern-suffers-first-loss-85-69-to-st-john-s-1.2428084

Playing in the city that never sleeps, Northwestern called it a night after one half.

St. John's dominated the Wildcats in the second half to win the Madison Square Garden Holiday Festival with an 85-69 victory.

The Wildcats (8-1) had a miserable time trying to guard St. John's athletic big men. And John Shurna was their only consistent scorer.

Shurna lit up the Garden nets for 28 points on 10-for-17 shooting, but the rest of the team combined to make just 15 of 45.

Northwestern led 40-37 at the half but shot just 11 of 37 after the break. The Red Storm, meanwhile, shot 16-for-20 after the intermission.

Read More:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/college/ct-spt-1222-northwestern-baskektball-20101221,0,2945634.story