Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Wisconsin
Wildcats Fall To Wisconsin, 74-59
2/8/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb 8, 2003
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By JASON STRAIT
AP Sports Writer
EVANSTON, Ill. - Kirk Penney had 23 points as Wisconsin rebounded from its worst loss of the season with a 74-59 win over Northwestern on Saturday.
Wisconsin (16-5, 6-3) went on a 14-6 run behind eight points from Penney at the start of the second half to open up a 14-point lead. The Badgers led by as many as 20 points with five minutes to go.
Clayton Hanson added a career-high 12 points off the bench. He made 4-of-4 3-pointers. Wisconsin was 8-of-16 on 3s as a team.
The Badgers were coming off an 78-60 loss at Purdue, their most lopsided of the season and one of Penney's poorest shooting games. The senior guard was just 3-of-15 in that effort but was much sharper against the Wildcats (9-11, 1-8). He finished 7-of-17 and had six rebounds.
Northwestern struggled from the field against the quicker Badgers, who are allowing a league-low 60 points a game, and were beaten badly on the boards. Wisconsin finished with a 37-25 rebounding edge despite starting just one player over 6-foot-5 - center Mike Wilkinson, who is 6-foot-8.
T.J. Parker, Northwestern's second-best scorer at 12 a game, picked up his third foul with 47 seconds left in the first half. He had eight points but wasn't as aggressive in the second half.
Jitim Young led the Wildcats with 25 points and 10 rebounds. Aaron Jennings added 16 points.
Wisconsin led 35-29 at halftime on a strange play that took about five minutes to sort out.
Northwestern's Mohamed Hachad appeared to tip in a Wildcats miss at the buzzer, but the officials called Hachad for an offensive foul and waved off the basket.
Officials then watched several replays of the tip-in to see whether there was enough time on the clock and which player was fouled. They eventually awarded Penney a pair of free throws with 0.5 second left before halftime.
The Badgers held a 22-10 rebounding advantage at halftime, including five offensive rebounds for Alando Tucker. Wisconsin nearly has as many offensive rebounds (nine) as the Wildcats' first half total and finished with 14.
Northwestern is home for the third straight game Wednesday night, taking on Purdue at 8 p.m.
