Bully ball and a well-balanced scoring attack help the Nittany Lions survive at home against Northwestern in their first game of the new year. Down 82-80 with six seconds left, an inadvertent whistle took away the Wildcats’ game-tying putback, forcing an inbound pass down two. An Ace Baldwin Jr. steal and two free throws would seal the game for the Nittany Lions, picking up their 12th win of the season 84-80.

Despite not being able to get it going from deep, the Nittany Lions still managed a balanced scoring attack, with seven players scoring at least eight points, five of which were in double figures. Zach Hicks led the way in scoring with 20 points and knocked down three of the Nittany Lions’ four total three-pointers.

With the three-point shot not falling, the Penn State looked to attack inside more. The Nittany Lions went 36-45 from the Free Throw line, behind a 15-16 performance from the charity stripe by Baldwin. They also totaled 36 points in the paint, including 14 dunks and layups.

For Northwestern, it was another big day for the star-studded duo of Brooks Barnhizer and Nick Martinelli. Barnhizer’s outing included a near triple-double with 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists. Martinelli added 18 points to the Wildcats’ total.

Nick Kern Jr. throws down the alley-oop dunk via the feed from Baldwin. Kern’s dunk would wind up being the game-winning basket, as Northwestern finished the game with just 80 points.

Penn State will travel to Philadelphia to play Indiana in the Palestra, one of college basketball’s most famous arenas. Tip-off is at noon Eastern time on Sunday, January 5th. Depending on the result of their ongoing game against Rutgers, the Hoosiers will either enter the matchup with an 11-3 or 10-4 record.