Jake West scored 21 points and LA Pratt added 20 to lift host Northwestern to a 72-55 victory against Boston University on Monday in Evanston, Ill.
Angelo Ciaravino (14 points) and Phoenix Gill (11) also scored in double figures for the Wildcats.
Kyrone Alexander and Azmar Abdullah had 11 points apiece for the Terriers while Michelangelo Oberti contributed 10 points and nine rebounds. Boston finished with as many made field goals as turnovers, 19.
The Wildcats led by as many as 18 points while improving to 3-0 but withstood a series of challenges from the Terriers (2-1).
A 14-4 Boston run — fueled by two treys from Andrew Bhesania and another from Abdullah — brought the visitors to within 57-49 points with 6:56 left. West answered with his first 3-pointer of the game on the next possession to push the lead back to double digits.
Neither team scored again until the Wildcats’ Okku Federiko split a pair of free throws with 4:16 remaining. The Terriers managed just one field goal the rest of the way.
West dished eight assists while Ciaravino snagged six rebounds. The Wildcats finished minus-seven on the glass but had 11 steals, including three apiece from West and Pratt.
Northwestern, which has not trailed this season, needed just 2:37 to build a double-digit advantage. Capitalizing on a flurry of early Terriers turnovers, the Wildcats jumped ahead 12-2 at the 17:23 mark as West converted a steal into a layup at the other end.
While Boston improved its ball control as the night progressed, the Terriers still had more turnovers, 14, than made field goals, nine, at the break, when they trailed 39-24.
Oberti’s layup trimmed the deficit to six points at the 13:55 mark before the Wildcats responded again behind a strong showing from their backcourt. Pratt led all scorers with 15 first-half points while West added nine. Oberti paced the Terriers with six points before intermission.
Alexander, who had a career-best 29 points during Friday’s home win against Brown, scored five in the first half.
Jack Karasinski of Northwestern missed his second straight game with a concussion.