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Northwestern basketball races past UCAM Murcia in win, 94-54

The Wildcats, using a big third quarter burst, won their second-straight game in Spain in convincing fashion.

By Josh Burton
Scottie Lindsey throwing down a fastbreak dunk during NU's 94-54 win over UCAM Murcia on Thursday.
Scottie Lindsey throwing down a fastbreak dunk during NU's 94-54 win over UCAM Murcia on Thursday.
Northwestern University Men's Basketball Team (Twitter: @NUMensBball)

After having Wednesday off following a 98-50 win over Eurocolegio Casvi, Northwestern basketball kept the good times rolling as the Wildcats beat down UCAM Murcia, 94-54, on Thursday. The win improved NU's record in Spain to 2-1 with the final two games scheduled for this weekend.

The Wildcats looked to be in trouble early as, according to the basketball team's Twitter feed, UCAM Murcia had a big size advantage at center over NU's Alex Olah. The Spanish side took an early lead and looked to give the sluggish Wildcats some trouble out of the gates.

But, the Wildcats responded well as Northwestern spent a lot of Thursday's game above the rim, continuing the trend of explosive, athletic play the team has demonstrated in Spain. Scottie Lindsey, especially, showed off his hops, first with an alley-oop finish off a great feed by Tre Demps and then a Jordan-esque jam on a fastbreak.

Demps, in addition to making some nice passes, was able to get points for himself, as he notched 11 of the Wildcats' 38 by the intermission. NU led by seven after two quarters, mostly thanks to Demps and Lindsey, who added eight points to the effort.

Once again, the second half was where the Wildcats really broke free, as they used an 8-0 midway through to go up 46-31. An extended 20-7 run really put UCAM Murcia away before the third quarter even ended.

Transfer Joey van Zegeren, who continues to impress in his debut performances in purple and white, joined in on the fun with some big finishes at the rim. It's unlikely, but he could see himself sneak into the starting lineup when Northwestern opens up its non-conference schedule in the fall.

The win was never really in question for the Wildcats, who dominated the second half to win by a comfortable margin of 94-54. Lindsey and Demps led the way in scoring (20 and 18 points respectively) while six NU players reached double digits.

Another easy win behind them, the Wildcats are off again tomorrow as they travel to Barcelona. Also tomorrow, they'll visit a bull-fighting museum in the city of Valencia.

***

Turns out Alex Olah may be good at a sport other than basketball. Per the team's Instagram account, we have this gem of a video of Olah juggling a soccer ball with relative ease. He is European, after all, so maybe the Wildcats' men's soccer team could use a 6-10 defender?

Our 7-footer is better at this than your 7-footer. #B1GCats #Northwestern #PoundTheRock #GolpeaLaRoca @alex_olah

A video posted by Northwestern Basketball (@numensbball) on

Another Wildcat, Nate Taphorn, showed off his football (the other kind) skills during one of the team's rest stops on the trip from Madrid to Alicante. Could he give new starting quarterback Clayton Thorson a run for his money?

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Coverage of Northwestern basketball's trip to Spain

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