North Cook News

'Cats Drop Overtime Heartbreaker to Penn State

Northwestern fell to the Penn State Nittany Lions 68-65 in overtime inside a sold-out Welsh-Ryan Arena in overtime on Wednesday night.

The Wildcats (20-10, 11-8 B1G) had three players score in double figures, led by Boo Buie, who had 20 points, eight assists and three steals. Brooks Barnhizer tied his career-highh with 19 points and seven rebounds, while Ty Berry added 10 points. Buie's season-high eight assists led the Wildcats.Northwestern forced 13 Penn State turnovers, eight of them coming on steals. The Wildcats turned those takeaways into 12 points on the other end of the floor. Chase Audige's three steals led the way for Northwestern, bumping his season total to 72, the most in the Big Ten and tied for fifth-most in the nation.

How It Happened

In the game's early stages, Northwestern ripped off an 11-0 run with 16:56 left in the first half to take a 14-5 lead. The Nittany Lions chipped away at the lead, but Northwestern still entered halftime with a 28-24 advantage. Penn State turned the ball over nine times in the first 20 minutes, which Northwestern turned into 13 points.

Penn State opened the second half hot to take a 37-33 lead early before Northwestern fired off a 7-0 spurt, finished off by Buie's three, to seize a 40-37 lead with 12:05 to go in regulation. The Nittany Lions then fought back to take a 61-59 lead before Ty Berry hit a jumper to tie the game at 61 with 1:18 remaining. Both teams traded stops to end regulation, sending the game to overtime. Northwestern shot 42.9% from three-point range in the second half, hitting six shots from deep to score 18 of its 33 points.

Penn State won the game in overtime on a three by Camren Wynter with 0.7 seconds.

Original source can be found here