Crawford's hot hand leads Northwestern past Texas Southern

Northwestern senior guard Drew Crawford's hot start sparked the Wildcats, as his game-high 20 points, all in the first half, propelled them to a 79-49 win in their season opener against Texas Southern Tuesday night.

Crawford scored 5 seconds into the game off the opening tip and never let up, hitting 8 of 9 shots in the first half including four 3-pointers.

The Wildcats' defense pressured Texas Southern (0-2) the entire game, aided by five players 6-foot-8 or taller which limited the Tigers' effectiveness in the post. Texas Southern failed to crack double digits until forward Aaron Clayborn's layup with 3:15 left in the first half, but that barely put a dent in Northwestern's 40-11 lead.

Ten players scored for Northwestern, led by Crawford and freshman Kale Amrahamson, who added 15 points including two deep 3-pointers that brought the fans at Welsh-Ryan Arena to their feet.

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Drew Crawford breakaway Slam

"Say hello to Olah!"

Alex Ola throws down big jam:

Reggie Hearn 3-pointer:

FINAL: Northwestern's defense shut down Texas Southern, as the Wildcats defeated the Tigers 79-49 on Tuesday at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston. Northwestern (1-0) held Texas Southern (0-2) to 29 percent shooting from the field.

Drew Crawford had a big game for the Wildcats, with 20 points, 8-of-12 shooting from the field, and 4-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc.

Kale Abrahamson had a quality shooting game, nailing 4-of-6 shots from the field and scoring 15 points. Northwestern shot 50 percent from the field (29-of-58). The Wildcats were on fire from beyond the arc during the game, shooting 46 percent (11-of-24).

Raymond Penn scored 13 points for the Tigers in the loss.

Northwestern never trailed in the game. The Wildcats' largest lead was 37, which came with 5:24 remaining.

HALFTIME: Drew Crawford went 8-of-9 from the field and scored 20 points in the first half to carry Northwestern to a 43-14 lead over Texas Southern. Northwestern led by as many as 31 points in the first half and never trailed.

Jared Swopshire and Reggie Hearn each chipped in six points for the Wildcats, who have had eight players enter the scoring column.

The Tigers were ineffective from the floor, shooting 21 percent. Aaron Clayborn and Raymond Penn lead Texas Southern with five points apiece.