Shurna Scores 37 in Northwestern Win over LSU

College Hoops Player of the Day for Thursday, November 17, 2011

Last season, the Northwestern Wildcats finished their regular season 18-13, were snubbed by the NCAA tournament committee, went to the NIT, won two games and were ousted in the quarter-finals by Washington State, 69-66.

This season, with 6'9" senior forward and leading scorer, John Shurna, back for his final year, they're reaching for more, and their 88-82 win over LSU Thursday night was another step in the right direction.

Shurna scored a career high 37 points against the Tigers, playing all 40 minutes in a game that was tight until the final seconds.

LSU had built an 11-point half time lead and expanded it to 14 in the second half, but Shurna, who scored 21 points in the second half, led a comeback by the Wildcats, capped by Dave Sobelewski's 3-pointer in the final minute, sealing the victory.

Hitting 13 of 14 free throws, Shurna made 10 of 21 shots from the field including four 3-pointers to pace all scorers and put his name in sixth place in the Division 1 scoring leaders. He also had seven rebounds and four assists. Shurna played 31 minutes and scored 15 points in Northwestern's season-opening win over Texas.

The Wildcats won't have much time to celebrate their win. They play 3-0 Tulsa Friday afternoon at 3:30 pm ET.

Northwestern 7-0 as Shurna Pumps in 28

College Hoops Player of the Day for Thursday, December 16, 2010 Keep your eyes glued to the Big Ten this season, because it's absolutely loaded.

Not only does the conference boast #2 Ohio State, #12 Illinois and #14 Michigan State, but 9-1 Purdue is ranked #19 and 10-1 Minnesota checks in at #21.

Then there's Northwestern, creeping up on all of the well-known names. In 2008-09, the Wildcats went 17-14. Last season, 20-14, and this year, they're off and running with a 7-0 start, after dismissing American U. Thursday, 78-62.

As usual, leading the charge for the Wildcats was junior forward John Shurna, who upped his scoring average to 23.7 per game after going for 28 points on 9-of-14 shooting. Shurna, 6'8", 215 lbs., comfortable both on the wing and in the paint, canned 3-of-6 outside the arc and was 6-of-8 inside. He also made 7 of his 8 free throws. He's shooting an exceptional 64.3% from the field, which includes 62.2% from three-point land. Shurna leads the Big Ten in scoring, followed - from a distance - by Purdue's E'Twaun Moore, at 20.6.

Shurna's been held under 20 points just once this season, when he played 27 minutes and scored 17 in a 71-45 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

In Thursday's win, Shurna also contributed 4 boards, 2 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocked shots.