Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Penn State
Northwestern Second-Half Run Finishes Penn State, 54-39
2/19/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 19, 2005
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EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) - Mohamed Hachad and Vince Scott scored 13 points apiece, and Vedran Vukusic added 12 Saturday to lead Northwestern to a 54-39 victory over Penn State.
A couple of factors that contributed to Northwestern's win, however, were not at the offensive end. Instead, they came on defense -- where the Wildcats had 17 steals, their fifth straight game with a double-figure total in that statistic -- and on the glass. Northwestern outrebounded the Nittany Lions, 30-27, a far cry from the first meeting this season when PSU outboarded the 'Cats, 42-17.
"I think the press helped us a lot today," said NU head coach Bill Carmody. "That was combined with open looks that they missed -- those were the same shots they made at State College (on Jan. 22, when Penn State won 65-62). We were also able to rebound."
Leading 25-18 at the break, the Wildcats (13-12, 5-7 Big Ten) opened the second half by outscoring Penn State 21-4. The win was Northwestern's fourth in its last five games; the 'Cats need to go at least 2-2 the rest of the regular season in order to be eligible for postseason play.
"We have four games left and we have to win a couple," said Carmody. "We have tough teams ahead, but we will prepare for them like any other game. There is a sense of urgency, which I have stated to the guys so there is no confusion at all."
Vukusic started NU's second-half run with a three-pointer; later he had a steal and hit a jumper making it 36-20 Northwestern en route to scoring eight points in the span. Michael Jenkins capped the stretch with a trey from the left corner, giving NU a 46-22 lead with 12:06 left in the game.
Danny Morrissey tried to get Penn State back into the game, hitting a pair of three-pointers as the Nittany Lions drew within 48-35 with five minutes to play. However, Northwestern was the only team to score during the next three minutes, as Hachad got open for a layup and T.J. Parker knocked down a jumper.
Scott -- who scored a career-high 14 points and hit all four of his three-point shots the last time NU and Penn State played -- was 3-of-5 from beyond the arc Saturday.
Geary Claxton scored 12 points for Penn State and Travis Parker added 10 for the Nittany Lions (7-18, 1-11), who have lost seven straight games and 16 of their last 18.
Hachad scored nine points in the first half for Northwestern, which scored nine of the game's first 11 points and never trailed in the contest. In addition to the numerous steals, the Wildcats forced Penn State into 22 turnovers and also allowed the Nittany Lions to shoot just 30.8 percent from the field (PSU made just 12 field goals).
Northwestern faces the top-ranked and unbeaten Fighting Illini Wednesday night in Champaign.
