Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Penn State
Northwestern Edged In Final Seconds By Penn State
1/28/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan 28, 2004
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) - Ndu Egekeze scored on a put-back with 1.2 seconds left in overtime to lead Penn State to a 63-61 victory over Northwestern on Wednesday night.
After a Jitim Young 3-pointer tied the game at 61 with nine seconds left, Penn State guard Ben Luber took the ball down the court and drove the lane. Egekeze came up with the rebound, landed, and banked a shot in to give Penn State (9-8, 3-3 Big 10) the win.
Egekeze, who is nursing a foot injury, did not play most of the first half after picking up two early fouls. He finished with six points. Young led Northwestern (7-10, 2-4) with 16 points.
Penn State's Marlon Smith led all scorers with 23 points. Both Jan Jagla (12 points, 11 rebounds) and Aaron Johnson (11 points, 13 rebounds) recorded double-doubles for the Nittany Lions, who also got 11 points and seven assists from Luber.
T.J. Parker scored five points in the final minute and a half of regulation, including a long 3-pointer to send the game to overtime.
Both teams had trouble shooting, especially from the free-throw line where they were a combined 12-for-29.
Penn State could not take advantage of Northwestern's poor shooting earlier in the second half, going scoreless for a nine-minute span before a basket by Jagla.
Two baskets by Smith in the last minute of the first half gave Penn State a four-point lead.
