UNIVERSITY PARK– Penn State had a 10-point second-half lead, but a 15-0 run by Northwestern shifted the momentum and led to Penn State suffering its first Big Ten home loss of the Mike Rhoades era, 76-72 to Northwestern.
Kanye Clary had 25 points and Qudus Wahab added 13 with nine rebounds, but it wasn’t enough.
Penn State (8-8, 2-3) led 10-8 at the first media timeout, with Northwestern going on an 8-2 run after PSU got off to a 6-0 start. At the U12 timeout, Penn State led 17-14, with Ace Baldwin being all over the floor on the defensive end.
The teams continued to battle through the next timeout, which was ushered in when Penn State’s leading scorer, Kanye Clary, converted an impressive and-one.
With 4:09 left in the first half, Northwestern (12-3, 3-1) coach Chris Collins got hit with a technical foul. Baldwin hit both shots and put Penn State up 32-25, which it the lead it had at the last media timeout of the first half.
Clary led Penn State with 14 first-half points, the last two coming on a one-handed shot with less than 10 seconds left.
Penn State stayed in control during the second half, leading 51-41 at the first media timeout with a 3 by D’Marco Dunn putting PSU ahead by double digits.
With 12:59 left, Penn State coach Mike Rhoades got a technical foul. Two made free throws and a 3-point play later, and Northwestern had cut the deficit to three. After a dunk by Matthew Nicholson, Northwestern was down by just one.
A Nick Martinelli basket put Northwestern ahead for the first time on the evening. Northwestern’s run got up to 15-0. At the U8 timeout, Northwestern led, 62-59. Penn State never led again.
Clary ended the night with a game-high 25 points. Also for Penn State, Qudus Wahab ended with 13 points and nine rebounds.
For Northwestern, three players scored in double figures, led by Brooks Barnhizer, who had 23, Boo Buie, who had 17, and Ty Berry, who had 16.
