Northwestern 80, Fairleigh Dickinson 53
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Reggie Hearn scored 14 points and Alex Olah added 10 points and nine reobunds as Northwestern breezed past Fairleigh Dickinson 80-53 on Sunday.
Hearn and Olah saw limited action after halftime for the Wildcats (3-0) as 13 Northwestern players saw minutes in the South Padre Island Invitational opener at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
The Wildcats held the Knights to just 14 first-half points, matching a low established in a Nov. 13 season opener against Texas Southern as well as a 2008 defensive effort against UC Riverside.
Northwestern led 41-14 at halftime and opened a 36-point lead at 60-24 on Mike Turner's layup with 11:53 remaining in the second half.
Mathias Seilund led Fairleigh Dickinson (0-2) with a game-high 16 points, including 14 in the second half. Melquan Bolding added 12, while Lonnie Robinson had a game-high 11 rebounds.
Kale Abrahamson and Alex Marcotullio added nine points apiece for Northwestern.
Northwestern led 22-9 after 10 minutes thanks, in part, to 11 points from Hearn. The Wildcats were 8 of 16 from the field (50 percent) -- including a pair of Hearn 3-pointers -- during that stretch, while the Knights managed just 4 of 14 (28.6 percent) from the field.
Northwestern outscored Fairleigh Dickinson 14-3 in the final 6:21 to open the 27-point halftime lead.
Junior forward Nikola Cerina left the game with a possible ankle injury after crashing to the court with less than minutes minutes to play. His status was not immediately known.
NOTES: Both teams resume South Padre Invitational action on Tuesday. The Wildcats are home again Delaware State and the Knights at Illinois State. They'll each play twice in Texas starting Friday ... While Sunday's meeting was Northwestern's first against Fairleigh Dickinson, the Wildcats are 10-0 against current members of the Northeast Conference ... The Knights had been idle since they dropped a 117-75 decision at Xavier in their Nov. 9 season opener and are coming off a 3-26 season in 2011-2012 ... Hearn had a career-best 23 points in last Thursday's 81-68 victory over Mississippi Valley State ... Northwestern has won 18 straight in November in a streak going back to 2009.
