Penn State closes out Northwestern
STATE COLLEGE >> Penn State coach Patrick Chambers has watched his teams cough up enough leads late to know this squad is different.
The No. 13 Nittany Lions are hanging on and closing games out.
Lamar Stevens scored 23 points to lead Penn State over Northwestern 77-61 on Saturday.
Myles Dread scored 16 and Jamari Wheeler and Mike Watkins added 11 apiece for the Nittany Lions, who led for all but 6:29 to win their eighth straight.
They’ve arrived at 20 wins sooner than any other season in program history.
“We’ve been talking about moments since the beginning of the season and this is another moment for us,” Chambers said. “You can celebrate after the season. Right now, we’re trying to do something special. Something Penn State’s never done before.”
Boo Buie and Pete Nance had 12 points, Pat Spencer scored 11 and Miller Kopp had 10 for the Wildcats (618, 1-13 Big Ten), who lost their ninth in a row.
The Nittany Lions (205, 10-4) led 42-28 at halftime and by as many as 18 midway through the second half before the Wildcats clawed back.
Aided by a 17-6 run midway through the second half, Northwestern cut Penn State’s lead to seven with 5:16 left. But Dread drained a 3-pointer to help put the game out of reach and the Nittany Lions finished on a 10-4 run.
“Give credit to their guys who were able to hit some good shots when we put some pressure on them,” Northwestern coach Chris Collins said. “We had some opportunities in the paint that we couldn’t finish.”
The Wildcats had a good start. Kopp got the them started with a 3-pointer that quickly turned into an
11-9 lead for Northwestern. It didn’t last long.
Penn State extended its lead with back-to-back
3-pointers from Dread and Wheeler that sparked a
22-6 run, including a 10-0 stretch, that put Penn State up 35-19.
(1) BAYLOR 70 (14) WEST VIRGINIA 59 >> Jared Butler scored 16 of his 21 points in the first half, and Baylor (23-1, 12-0) never trailed while tying the longest winning streak in Big 12 history at 22 games with a victory over West Virginia (18-7,
6-6).
Butler was 5 of 7 from
3-point range as Baylor extended the longest winning streak in school history while breaking the school mark with a 12th consecutive conference win, topping the 1945-46 team in the old Southwest Conference.
CLEMSON 77, (5) LOUISVILLE
62 >> Johnny Newman III had a career-high 23 points and Clemson (13-12, 7-8 ACC) used a strong defensive first half to send Louisville (21-5,
12-3) to its second straight defeat.
(7) DUKE 94, NOTRE DAME 60 >> Vernon Carey Jr. scored 21 points, Tre Jones added 19 and
Duke (22-3, 12-2 ACC) used its high-intensity man-to-man defense to beat Notre Dame
(15-10, 6-8).
(9) MARYLAND 67, MICHIGAN STATE 60 >> Anthony Cowan scored 11 of his 24 points in the final two-plus minutes, helping Maryland (214, 11-3 Big Ten) beat Michigan State (17-9, 9-6) with a strong finish.
MISSOURI 85, (11) AUBURN 73 >> Guards Dru Smith and Xavier Pinson each scored
28 points to lead Missouri
(12-13, 4-8 SEC) to the upset of Auburn (22-3, 9-3).
(12) KENTUCKY 67, MISSISSIPPI 62 >> Nick Richards had
16 points, including two goahead free throws with 1:11 remaining, and Immanuel Quickley and Keion Brooks each made two more in the closing seconds to help Kentucky (20-5, 10-2 SEC) escape Mississippi (13-12, 4-8). GEORGETOWN 73, (19) BUTLER 66 >> Terrell Allen tied a career high with 22 points, including key baskets on back-to-back possessions late, and short-handed Georgetown (15-10, 5-7 Big East) endured on the road without its top two scorers to knock off Butler (19-7, 7-6). RUTGERS 72, (22) ILLINOIS 57 >> Ron Harper Jr. hit all five of his 3-pointers and scored 27 points and Rutgers (18-8. 9-6 Big Ten) remained unbeaten at home, sending the Illini to their fourth straight loss. OKLAHOMA STATE 73, (24) TEXAS TECH 70 >> Jonathan Laurent and Kalib Boone each scored 16 points as Oklahoma State (13-12, 3-9 Big 12) registered its first win over a ranked opponent this season, beating Texas Tech
(16-9, 7-5).
ALABAMA 88, (25) LSU 82 >> Kira Lewis Jr. scored 27 points, Jaden Shackelford had 26 and Alabama (13-12,
6-6 SEC) held off a big comeback attempt by LSU (18-7,
9-3).