Northwestern University Athletics
Tuesday, December 27
University Park, Pa.
2 p.m.
Northwestern
12-2, 1-0
87
at
77
Penn State
8-6, 0-1
1
2
F
Northwestern
51
36
87
Penn State
32
45
77
Photo by: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
Northwestern Bounces Penn State to Open Big Ten Play, 87-77
12/27/2016 4:27:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Lindsey posts career-high 31 points for Wildcats
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Scottie Lindsey scored a career-high 31 points in leading Northwestern to an 87-77 win at Penn State Tuesday in the Big Ten opener for both teams at Bryce Jordan Center.
Vic Law (12 points, 12 rebounds) chipped in with his second career double-double to help the Wildcats (12-2, 1-0 B1G) win their ninth straight game. Gavin Skelly (12) and Bryant McIntosh (11 points, 8 assists) also scored in double figures for NU.
The Wildcats were red-hot from the field to open the game, connecting on each of their first six attempts and eight of their first nine, forcing Penn State to burn an early timeout just over four minutes into the contest.
Lindsey had the hot hand with his 3-pointer at the 13:34 mark giving him 9 points as Northwestern pushed its advantage to 22-9. Barret Benson's three-point play made it an 18-2 run for the 'Cats and extended the lead to 16 by the under-12 media timeout.
Lindsey's second triple of the half gave the Wildcats a 19-point edge, 35-16, but six straight points by the hosts trimmed the lead to 13. Skelly helped stem the tide by knocking down a triple that made it 38-22.
Penn State was back within 13, but back-to-back dunks by Skelly and Lindsey – the latter resulting in a three-point play – put NU up 43-25 with 3:35 left in the half.
Back-to-back triples late by Isiah Brown and Nathan Taphorn gave Northwestern its largest lead of the half, 51-30, with the 'Cats eventually taking a 51-32 advantage into halftime.
Lindsey tallied 17 first-half points to lead the Wildcats who shot 55.9 percent (19-34) from the field while holding the Nittany Lions to 30.3 percent shooting (10-33).
A slow start to the second half saw Penn State close to within 13 as the Wildcats went without a field goal for a six-minute span, but a huge triple by Lindsey made it 58-42 with just over 13 minutes remaining.
The Nittany Lions were still within striking distance trailing by 14 as the clock went under 12 minutes, but two free throws by Law and McIntosh and Skelly during an 8-1 run pushed the lead back up to 21, 66-45.
Penn State never got closer than 17 until the final outcome had already been determined as the Wildcats started their conference season with a road win for the third consecutive year.
Northwestern returns to action at 5 p.m. Central time Friday at Michigan State. The Wildcats return home Jan. 5 when they take on Minnesota at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Northwestern Notes vs. Penn State
Dec. 27, 2016
• Northwestern has won nine straight games.
• This is Northwestern's fourth straight win over Penn State at Bryce Jordan Center.
• The Wildcats have now won 19 straight games in the month of December going back to 2014.
• Scottie Lindsey's 31 points are a career high. His previous high was 26 vs. New Orleans on Nov. 28, 2015.
• Lindsey's 30-point game is the first by a Northwestern player since Tre Demps scored 30 at Iowa Jan. 31, 2016.
• Northwestern is now 3-1 in Big Ten openers under head coach Chris Collins, including three straight road wins.
• Scottie Lindsey has scored in double figures in each of Northwestern's 14 games this season.
• Northwestern's 51 points in the first half are its second most in a half this season. The Wildcats scored 54 in the first half against DePaul Dec. 3.
• Vic Law posted 12 points and 12 rebounds in the contest to record his second career double-double. Both double-doubles have come against Penn State.
• Law's 12 rebounds are a career high. His previous high was 11 vs. Penn State on Feb. 21, 2015.
Vic Law (12 points, 12 rebounds) chipped in with his second career double-double to help the Wildcats (12-2, 1-0 B1G) win their ninth straight game. Gavin Skelly (12) and Bryant McIntosh (11 points, 8 assists) also scored in double figures for NU.
The Wildcats were red-hot from the field to open the game, connecting on each of their first six attempts and eight of their first nine, forcing Penn State to burn an early timeout just over four minutes into the contest.
Lindsey had the hot hand with his 3-pointer at the 13:34 mark giving him 9 points as Northwestern pushed its advantage to 22-9. Barret Benson's three-point play made it an 18-2 run for the 'Cats and extended the lead to 16 by the under-12 media timeout.
Lindsey's second triple of the half gave the Wildcats a 19-point edge, 35-16, but six straight points by the hosts trimmed the lead to 13. Skelly helped stem the tide by knocking down a triple that made it 38-22.
Penn State was back within 13, but back-to-back dunks by Skelly and Lindsey – the latter resulting in a three-point play – put NU up 43-25 with 3:35 left in the half.
Back-to-back triples late by Isiah Brown and Nathan Taphorn gave Northwestern its largest lead of the half, 51-30, with the 'Cats eventually taking a 51-32 advantage into halftime.
Lindsey tallied 17 first-half points to lead the Wildcats who shot 55.9 percent (19-34) from the field while holding the Nittany Lions to 30.3 percent shooting (10-33).
A slow start to the second half saw Penn State close to within 13 as the Wildcats went without a field goal for a six-minute span, but a huge triple by Lindsey made it 58-42 with just over 13 minutes remaining.
The Nittany Lions were still within striking distance trailing by 14 as the clock went under 12 minutes, but two free throws by Law and McIntosh and Skelly during an 8-1 run pushed the lead back up to 21, 66-45.
Penn State never got closer than 17 until the final outcome had already been determined as the Wildcats started their conference season with a road win for the third consecutive year.
Northwestern returns to action at 5 p.m. Central time Friday at Michigan State. The Wildcats return home Jan. 5 when they take on Minnesota at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Northwestern Notes vs. Penn State
Dec. 27, 2016
• Northwestern has won nine straight games.
• This is Northwestern's fourth straight win over Penn State at Bryce Jordan Center.
• The Wildcats have now won 19 straight games in the month of December going back to 2014.
• Scottie Lindsey's 31 points are a career high. His previous high was 26 vs. New Orleans on Nov. 28, 2015.
• Lindsey's 30-point game is the first by a Northwestern player since Tre Demps scored 30 at Iowa Jan. 31, 2016.
• Northwestern is now 3-1 in Big Ten openers under head coach Chris Collins, including three straight road wins.
• Scottie Lindsey has scored in double figures in each of Northwestern's 14 games this season.
• Northwestern's 51 points in the first half are its second most in a half this season. The Wildcats scored 54 in the first half against DePaul Dec. 3.
• Vic Law posted 12 points and 12 rebounds in the contest to record his second career double-double. Both double-doubles have come against Penn State.
• Law's 12 rebounds are a career high. His previous high was 11 vs. Penn State on Feb. 21, 2015.
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Team Stats
NU
PSU
FG%
.444
.417
3FG%
.423
.267
FT%
.769
.676
RB
41
35
TO
12
11
STL
5
6
Game Leaders
Pts
31
FGM
9
3FGM
5
FTM
8
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
C
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G/F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
F
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