Northwestern Falls in Big Ten Road Contest at Penn State

1/5/2018 8:31:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Bryant McIntosh scored a team-high 18 points, but Northwestern was unable to overcome a strong shooting performance by Penn State on Friday night, falling, 78-63, at the Bryce Jordan Center.

After missing the Wildcats' last game with a knee injury, McIntosh returned to lineup and led the Wildcats' scoring efforts, totaling 18 points on 6-of-14 shooting (including 4-of-6 from behind the arc) along with four assists and three rebounds.

Just falling short of double figures were Scottie Lindsey, who finished with nine points along with Vic Law, who totaled eight points, six rebounds and five assists.

With the win, Penn State improves to 12-5 on the season and 2-2 in Big Ten. Lamar Stevens led the Nittany Lions with 30 points. As a team, Penn State shot 54.5-percent (30-of-55) on the night.

McIntosh wasted no time getting on the scoreboard as he knocked down a three-pointer on his first shot of the game to tie the score 3-3 with 18:13 to go in the half.

The Nittany Lions got off to a hot start offensively, knocking down nine of their first 11 shots to start the game and jump out to a 22-11 lead.

Penn State extended its lead to 31-15 with 7:44 remaining in the first half, however the Wildcats went on a 7-0 scoring run to cut their deficit to single digits.

NU ramped up its offensive efforts in the final 10 minutes of the half, converting on 9-of-16 shots to close out the opening stanza. However, Penn State's offense could not be slowed down for much of the half as they finished shooting 70.8-percent (17/24) from the field.

The #B1GCats continued to cut away at the lead as they went on a 6-0 in the final two minutes of the half, finishing with McIntosh banking in a triple at the buzzer to send the Wildcats into the break trailing, 41-34.

McIntosh led the Wildcats with 10 points and three assists in the first half. As a team, the Wildcats shot 40.6-percent from the field and converted on 5-of-13 three point attempts. The biggest differential between the two teams after one half was points in the paint, with Penn State finishing with 28 points compared to 10 from NU.

Trailing 45-36 early in the second half, Northwestern went on a 8-2 run to cut its deficit to just three with over 15 minutes remaining in the game. Pardon jump started the run with a two-handed dunk, and then back-to-back three pointers by McIntosh and Jordan Ash helped cut into the lead even further.

Penn State countered the Wildcats' run with a 9-0 streak of their own to extend the lead back to 56-44, however the Wildcats answered it with back-to-back 3-pointers from Ash and Law to trim the deficit to six. But that would be as close as the Wildcats could get for the rest of the game as Penn State continued its hot shooting en route to a 78-63 victory.

Northwestern returns to action at 8 p.m. Wednesday, January 10, when it hosts Minnesota at Allstate Arena. Tickets are available online at NUsports.com or by calling 888-GO-PURPLE.

Northwestern Notes vs. Penn State – Jan. 5, 2018
• This was the first of two meetings between Northwestern and Penn State this season. The Wildcats host the Nittany Lions Jan. 20 in Rosemont.
• Northwestern had won its previous four games against Penn State at Bryce Jordan Center.
• Senior guard Bryant McIntosh made the 114^th start of his career, tying him with Alex Olah (2013-16) for sixth place in school history.
• McIntosh and Lindsey both surpassed Alex Marcotullio (2010-13) who had been in ninth place on the school's career 3-pointers made list. Both McIntosh and Lindsey now have 159 career triples, tying them for ninth in NU history.
• With six field goals in the contest, McIntosh surpassed Michael Thompson (2008-11) for sixth place in career field goals in school history. McIntosh now has 573 career field goals.
• Northwestern's 11 3-pointers are one shy of a season high. The Wildcats have hit 12 triples four times this season.
• McIntosh made both of his free throw attempts and is now 31-of-32 from the charity stripe this season (.969).