John Shurna had a career-high 37 points, including 21 in the second half, as Northwestern erased a nine-point halftime deficit to defeat LSU 88-82 Thursday in the first round of the Charleston Classic.

The Wildcats (2-0) will take on Tulsa on Friday in a semifinal matchup. The Golden Hurricane defeated Western Kentucky 65-49 earlier in the day.

Northwestern trailed 41-32 at the half but stormed back to regain the lead at 56-53 on Reggie Hearn’s 3-pointer with 12:54 left. Shurna, who went 10-of-21 from the field, got the scoring surge started with a 3-pointer on the Wildcats’ first second-half possession.

The Wildcats, who scored 36 points in the first 12 minutes of the second half, stretched their lead to as many as nine with 5:07 left.

LSU (1-2) got as close as 83-82 with 46 seconds left on Ralston Turner’s 3-pointer, but Dave Sobolewski hit a 3 at the other end for the Wildcats to put the game away. Sobolewski finished with 10 points and Drew Crawford added 17 points and nine rebounds.

The loss was LSU’s second in as many games after a season-opening win against Nicholls State.

Johnny O’Bryant III had a team-high 21 points and eight rebounds for the Tigers, who committed 16 turnovers and struggled against Northwestern’s 1-3-1 zone in the second half. Andre Stringer added 15 on 4-of-11 shooting.