Saturday, March 7
Evanston, Ill.
3 P.M.
Northwestern
8-22,3-17Big Ten
80
vs
69
#20 Penn State
21-10,11-9Big Ten
1
2
F
Penn St.
34
35
69
Northwestern
34
46
80
'Cats Upset No. 20 Penn State on Senior Day
3/7/2020 5:48:00 PM | Men's Basketball
EVANSTON, Ill. – Northwestern took down No. 20 Penn State Saturday afternoon in front of a home crowd gathered to celebrate its seniors at Welsh-Ryan Arena. A.J. Turner, Pat Spencer and Tino Malnati were all honored in a pregame ceremony, with the trio also taking the floor together in the starting lineup.
The emphatic win marked a second triumph in three games for the 'Cats, who closed out the regular season with their first ranked victory of the campaign.
Miller Kopp led all scorers with 21 points, pouring them in on just 14 shot attempts that included five made three-pointers. Boo Buie was second on the team with 13 points, three of which came on clutch free throws down the stretch.
The seniors also showed out in their final game in the purple and white. Turner reached double-digit points as he was successful on both of his attempts from deep, while Spencer stuffed the stat sheet with nine points, six rebounds and a game-high six assists. In addition to notching his first career start, Malnati saw action in both halves and grabbed a trio of boards, including two in the early minutes that helped Northwestern get off to a fast start.
Turner got the contest underway in emphatic fashion as the senior drilled a three on the first possession. Following a stop, Kopp made it consecutive hits from downtown, and a bucket from Spencer a minute later put NU up 8-0 as Penn State called a timeout.
The 'Cats continued to play stifling defense as the first half wore on, forcing tough shots and rebounding well. A trey from Pete Nance followed by an acrobatic finish from Spencer stretched the lead to 15-2 with just over 13 minutes in the half.
NU continued to set the pace over the next few minutes, reaching 20 points before the Nittany Lions hit double-digits. With the score reading 20-8, the visitors started to heat up, with an 8-2 run making it 22-16 as the half went under the seven-minute mark.
The PSU offense continued to hit its stride as the half wound down, tying it up at 32 apiece with less than two minutes on the clock. Each team would add another two and enter the break knotted at 34-34.
Kopp led the home squad with eight points in the period, followed closely by Spencer and Ryan Young with six apiece. Spencer also added four boards, a team-high that was matched by Nance.
The second half began with rampant scoring on both ends, with multiple makes from behind the arc. The action was shared evenly, however, as it stayed as a one-possession game for over seven minutes.
NU was able to stretch the lead to two possessions when Nance drilled his second three-pointer from the top of the key, as the game clock approached 12 minutes remaining. The Wildcats turned the momentum into a dominant stretch on the offensive end, looking to pull away for good.
Beginning with a Buie layup at 10:47, Northwestern ripped off a 19-4 scoring run, with all 19 points coming from Buie, Kopp and Young. The nearly-six-minute stretch was capped by triples from Kopp and Buie as the Welsh-Ryan crowd erupted. Penn State was forced to call a timeout with 5:01 on the clock, but not before the 'Cats had amassed a 16-point advantage, leading 72-56.
Free throws and rebounding down the stretch sealed the result for the hosts, as Buie, Spencer and Turner each made good from the charity stripe. The final seconds ran down with the ball in the hands of senior and team captain Malnati, as the crowd saluted the effort with well-deserved applause.
With the victory, Chicago's Big Ten Team closes out the 2019-20 regular season with two wins in its last three games. Next up is the 2020 Big Ten Tournament, which is set to begin next Wednesday, March 11, and will be held at Bankers' Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
••••••
Be the first to know what's going on with the 'Cats -- Follow @NU_Sports on Twitter, become a fan of Northwestern Athletics on Facebook, check us out on Instagram, visit our Social Media page and download our mobile app from the Apple Store and Google Play! To get involved with the #B1GCats, become a season-ticket holder or join the Wildcat Fund!
The emphatic win marked a second triumph in three games for the 'Cats, who closed out the regular season with their first ranked victory of the campaign.
Miller Kopp led all scorers with 21 points, pouring them in on just 14 shot attempts that included five made three-pointers. Boo Buie was second on the team with 13 points, three of which came on clutch free throws down the stretch.
The seniors also showed out in their final game in the purple and white. Turner reached double-digit points as he was successful on both of his attempts from deep, while Spencer stuffed the stat sheet with nine points, six rebounds and a game-high six assists. In addition to notching his first career start, Malnati saw action in both halves and grabbed a trio of boards, including two in the early minutes that helped Northwestern get off to a fast start.
Turner got the contest underway in emphatic fashion as the senior drilled a three on the first possession. Following a stop, Kopp made it consecutive hits from downtown, and a bucket from Spencer a minute later put NU up 8-0 as Penn State called a timeout.
The 'Cats continued to play stifling defense as the first half wore on, forcing tough shots and rebounding well. A trey from Pete Nance followed by an acrobatic finish from Spencer stretched the lead to 15-2 with just over 13 minutes in the half.
NU continued to set the pace over the next few minutes, reaching 20 points before the Nittany Lions hit double-digits. With the score reading 20-8, the visitors started to heat up, with an 8-2 run making it 22-16 as the half went under the seven-minute mark.
The PSU offense continued to hit its stride as the half wound down, tying it up at 32 apiece with less than two minutes on the clock. Each team would add another two and enter the break knotted at 34-34.
Kopp led the home squad with eight points in the period, followed closely by Spencer and Ryan Young with six apiece. Spencer also added four boards, a team-high that was matched by Nance.
The second half began with rampant scoring on both ends, with multiple makes from behind the arc. The action was shared evenly, however, as it stayed as a one-possession game for over seven minutes.
NU was able to stretch the lead to two possessions when Nance drilled his second three-pointer from the top of the key, as the game clock approached 12 minutes remaining. The Wildcats turned the momentum into a dominant stretch on the offensive end, looking to pull away for good.
Beginning with a Buie layup at 10:47, Northwestern ripped off a 19-4 scoring run, with all 19 points coming from Buie, Kopp and Young. The nearly-six-minute stretch was capped by triples from Kopp and Buie as the Welsh-Ryan crowd erupted. Penn State was forced to call a timeout with 5:01 on the clock, but not before the 'Cats had amassed a 16-point advantage, leading 72-56.
Free throws and rebounding down the stretch sealed the result for the hosts, as Buie, Spencer and Turner each made good from the charity stripe. The final seconds ran down with the ball in the hands of senior and team captain Malnati, as the crowd saluted the effort with well-deserved applause.
With the victory, Chicago's Big Ten Team closes out the 2019-20 regular season with two wins in its last three games. Next up is the 2020 Big Ten Tournament, which is set to begin next Wednesday, March 11, and will be held at Bankers' Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
••••••
Be the first to know what's going on with the 'Cats -- Follow @NU_Sports on Twitter, become a fan of Northwestern Athletics on Facebook, check us out on Instagram, visit our Social Media page and download our mobile app from the Apple Store and Google Play! To get involved with the #B1GCats, become a season-ticket holder or join the Wildcat Fund!
Team Stats
PSU
NU
FG%
.329
.464
3FG%
.278
.500
FT%
.765
.739
RB
40
40
TO
8
8
STL
4
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
21
FGM
8
3FGM
5
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Players Mentioned
F
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