On a night that honored Penn State’s seven seniors, sophomore Dallion Johnson set a career-high in scoring with 15 points, and the Nittany Lions completed a regular-season sweep of Northwestern with a 67-60 win.
Seniors combined to score Penn State’s first 15 points, with Jalen Pickett scoring the first five, Sam Sessoms hitting two threes and John Harrar adding a basket. Penn State went into halftime down 28-22, as the offense managed just two points in the final 7:14 and got outscored 10-2 to end the half. Sessoms led all scorers with eight points at the break, and Pete Nance led Northwestern with seven.
In the second half, Penn State kept it tight, then exploded in the final five minutes. The Lions were down 50-49 with four-and-a-half to play, but an 11-0 run spearheaded by three pointers from Johnson, Sessoms and senior Myles Dread put Penn State up by double digits and put the game to bed.
Nance finished with 12 points to lead the Wildcats, with Chase Audige and Ty Berry adding 11. For Penn State, Harrar had a career-high 20 rebounds and got his fifth straight double-double and seventh overall with 11 points. Johnson was the night’s high scorer, finishing with 15 points on five three pointers. Sessoms and Seth Lundy each finished with 12 and Pickett added 11.
Penn State final home game of the 2012-22 season will be Sunday night against Nebraska. Tipoff is scheduled for 7. The Nittany Lions have two more regular-season games after that, at Illinois and Rutgers.
