Penn State falls narrowly to Northwestern 76-72
Despite a strong first half and leading for nearly 27 of 40 minutes, the Penn State Nittany Lions couldn't hold onto a once double-digit second-half lead, falling to Northwestern 76-72.
Kanye Clary led all scorers in the game with 25 points while Qudus Wahab and Nick Kern also finished with double-digit scoring efforts in the loss.
The Nittany Lions held a lead in the game from tip-off all the way to the 11:25 mark of the second half when Nick Martinelli gave the Wildcats a 56-55 lead and wouldn't look back. The Wildcats in the second half simply would not miss, making 13 of 17 attempts including seven straight over a five-minute stretch that saw them go from down six at 53-47 to leading the Nittany Lions 62-55. For the half, Northwestern shot 78.9% from the field and 12-of-17 from the free-throw line.
In comparison, the Nittany Lions who had a hot shooting hand of their own in the first half, making shots at a 55.6% clip, struggled in the second half, making just 37.0% of their attempts, going 10-of-27 including 2-of-7 from three-point range.
The Nittany Lions' three-point shooting in the game will be one they would like to forget about. The Nittany Lions were 3-of-17 for the game including Zach Hicks going 0-for-6 in the game from deep. Kayne Clary and DeMarco Dunn were the only Nittany Lions to make three-point attempts on Wednesday night.
While it didn't serve as the sole catalyst to the Nittany Lions' loss, a clear turning point of momentum in the game was a technical foul called on Mike Rhoades with 12:59 left in the game. Following the technical foul, Northwestern made six consecutive shots as part of an 11-0 run that allowed them to take the lead.
For Penn State, Thursday's loss will be a painful missed opportunity to pick up a big January win over a very good Northwestern team. A win would've allowed the Nittany Linos to continue to build momentum coming off Sunday's big comeback win over Michigan at The Palestra.
UP NEXT
The Nittany Lions will have their hands full next time on the court as they'll take on No.1 Purdue on Saturday at 2:15 in West Lafayette. The Boilermakers fell to Nebraska on Tuesday night 88-72, dropping their record to 14-2 on the season.
--------------------------------------------------------------
• Subscribe to our YouTube Channel