A quick Northwestern runs over Mercer, 83-72

Mustangs coach Mike Williams thought an early deficit dictated the game.
By BILL ALBRIGHT
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. -- Northwestern didn't pull any punches. They started the game running and closed it out running as they cruised to an 83-72 victory over Mercer in the opening round of the District 10 Class AA playoffs Friday.
From the opening tip, it became apparent that the Mustangs (14-10) were going to have problems dealing with the overall quickness of the Wildcats (15-10).
"They were definitely faster than we were," said Mercer coach Mike Williams. "That obviously made a big difference in the ball game because we had a lot of problems guarding them."
Lead changes
Mercer took a 6-0 lead in the first three minutes of the game, but during the remainder of the opening period, the Wildcats put together an 18-4 run to open an 18-10 lead.
"I think the eight-point cushion they put on us during the first quarter kind of dictated the whole game, to be quite honest about it," said Williams.
"We gave up a number of good looks, and as a result, they had four 3s in the first quarter," he added. "When they did that, I think we got a little gun shy on defense. We do a lot of helping on defense, and when that happened, I said to the kids, 'Hey, we can't help.' "
The Mustangs also play a lot of zone defense and Williams was quick to admit they had to back off of that game plan with the way things happened early in the game.
"They beat us on some dribble-and-kick-out shots and that pulled us out of the zone, which we like to be in," said Williams. "We like to play a lot of zone and use the zone press, but tonight they were able to pick that apart pretty well."
Happy but disappointed
Although happy with his club winning the Mercer County Athletic Conference Class AA title, Williams was disappointed that his club went one-and-out.
"They were a very good team and in basketball, you only get one chance at a team," he said. "They shot the ball very well from the foul line, they shot the ball very well from the perimeter and let's face it, today was their day.
"I know I didn't take them lightly and hats off to them, they beat us today."
For Mercer, Sean Berti and Jason Moon both had huge games with respective totals of 22 and 20 points.
The Wildcats featured four players in double figures, led by Brad Blood with 29 points.