PSU Hoops, Dallion Johnson down Northwestern on Senior Night
Dallion Johnson scored a career-high 15 points off of five 3-pointers to help key Penn State’s Senior Night win, 67-60, over Northwestern.
A sloppy first half from Penn State allowed Northwestern to grab an early lead and carry it into halftime.
Sam Sessoms had a nice first half with eight points, and he was the answer often when the Nittany Lions needed it. Problem was, Penn State needed a lot of answers.
Coach Micah Shrewsberry’s team went five minutes from the 12-minute mark to the seven-minute mark without a field goal. The Nittany Lions finally broke it with excellent ball movement and a Seth Lundy 3-pointer.
Northwestern suffered a three-minute drought of its own, but it held onto the lead throughout.
Penn State continued a rough trend with another six-minute drought. The Nittany Lions were 0-for-9 on the run and one for their previous 15 before John Harrar finally scored on a second-chance layup.
Northwestern capitalized on the slow offense and went on an 8-0 run to lead 28-22 at the half. After the solid early showing, Sessoms was off the floor for much of the half and didn’t score again before the break.
Penn State turned it over seven times and shot just 27% in the first period of play.
The opening of the second half was a much different story, as Penn State and Harrar came out of the gates hot. The big man put up a quick five points and Dallion Johnson drained from deep to offset a Pete Nance 3-pointer for the Wildcats.
Penn State finally clawed back into the lead at the 14-minute mark after a 7-0 run, capped by another Johnson triple. Boo Buie quickly knotted it for Northwestern, but Myles Dread sank a long ball on the ensuing possession to stretch a lead for the blue and white.
The 3-point barrage continued, as Lundy knocked in one of his own to make Penn State 4-for-5 from deep in the early going of the second half.
Northwestern shifted to a 3-2 zone on defense, and another slow spell for Penn State allowed the Wildcats to jump back into it. Penn State went on a five-minute drought between the 11-minute and six-minute mark. Julian Roper hit from deep to officially put Northwestern back in the lead.
The sophomore Johnson, however, came up big again on Senior Night. He hit his third 3-pointer to break the drought and his fourth on the next possession to rip the lead back.
Johnson made his fifth trey of the night and assisted on a Dread 3-pointer to continue a 14-2 run before a Northwestern timeout.
Sessoms scored his first points since the first half on a 3-point prayer with the shot clock winding down to make the Nittany Lion lead 10 point with a minute to go.
The Wildcats scored four straight points after the Sessoms triple. Sessoms turned the ball over with 30 seconds left, but Northwestern couldn’t convert, and Lundy hit both from the line to help put it away.
Penn State shot 60.9% from the floor in the second half while still turning it over seven more times. Northwestern shot an abysmal 38.7%, though, in the second period.
Johnson shined on Senior Night with his 15 points. Harrar pulled down his 20th rebound in the final seconds and made two free throws to give him 11 points and his fourth straight double-double. Sessoms and Lundy both had 12, and Pickett added 11 of his own.
Chase Audige, Nance and Ty Berry all hit double figures for Northwestern with 11, 12 and 11, respectively.
Penn State is back home on Sunday against Nebraska for the final home game of the 2022 season.
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