Rapid Reaction: Northwestern takes care of business in 76-66 win against Penn State
· Yahoo Sports
On a stormy night in Chicago, the ‘Cats rode their second-half momentum on the way to victory against the Nittany Lions.
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For Northwestern, Nick Martinelli led the way with 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting and pulled down nine rebounds. Jayden Reid had 14 points and nine assists.
For Penn State, Ivan Jurić had 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting and six rebounds. Josh Reed and Freddie Dilione V each had 14 points.
After the Nittany Lions won the tip, Jurić got the team on the board with a layup. A few possessions later, Martinelli nailed a 3-pointer for NU’s first points of the game. Following a successful challenge, Jake West drove in for two, giving the ‘Cats their first lead of the game at 5-4. Reid kept the scoring going, knocking down a triple, part of an eight-point run for Northwestern.
Jurić continued the back and forth start with two more as the Arrinten Page-less Wildcat lineup struggled with his 7-foot frame. Martinelli then went on a personal 6-0 run to bring the lead to 18-12. There was minimal defensive resistance from both teams as Northwestern took a four-point lead after the first eight minutes.
Tyler Kropp then got on the board with two free throws, but the teams slowed down offensively as the score stood at 23-21 with 7:50 remaining in the first half.
Following the stoppage, both teams had multiple scoreless possessions before Kropp converted a putback layup. Penn State came right back, though, as Melih Tunca drilled a triple, and Reed converted an and-one. On that foul, Singleton picked up his third foul of the first half in just five minutes of playing time. Martinelli and West stopped the run, converting two consecutive layups to give NU the lead.
The ‘Cats had their fourth turnover out of the timeout, but after a stop, Martinelli put in two more off of Reid’s fifth assist. Kayden Mingo tied the game back up with a three, however, West made sure it was short-lived with a layup on the other end. Northwestern headed into halftime with a 34-32 lead.
At the break, Martinelli had a team-high 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting along with five rebounds. West and Reid also had six points each as the team was 48.1% from the field. Reid had six first-half assists as well. The ‘Cats, even without Page, were winning the rebounding battle by five and had six offensive rebounds as a team, headlined by Kropp’s five boards.
Penn State was shooting better from the floor (50%), 3-point range (50%) and the foul line (100%), but were trailing by two because of the deficit in turnover and rebounding margins. Jurić was the leading scorer for the Nittany Lions with 12, and Reed chipped in seven. The shooting seemed unsustainable for Penn State in the first half as Northwestern looked to improve its defense in the second.
Kropp started the second half in place of Singleton and immediately benefited with a layup. Mingo responded quickly, taking it away from Martinelli and converting an and-one. After a few turnovers by NU, Martinelli hit a three, but Reed made one on the other end for the Nittany Lions. The ‘Cats went on a quick 5-0 run with three from Reid and two from Angelo Ciaravino as Northwestern took a six-point lead into the first timeout of the half.
Out of the under-16, Jurić made another layup, but NU came right back with a Singleton free throw and a Martinelli fastbreak lay-in. Mingo had a three-point play, but the Glenview native continued his great game with two more, bringing his individual point total to 20. The ‘Cats had a 49-43 lead as Penn State took a timeout with 13:33 remaining.
Justin Mullins hit a three out of the break, but Jurić continued his great game with two more buckets. Northwestern had no answer for the Croatia native, and Page’s absence was looming large. Mullins drained another triple after two free throws by Penn State’s Reed, and NU’s lead was back up to six. The teams continued to go back and forth as Jurić scored another two, and Singleton made a jumper. A possession later, Jurić picked up his fourth foul and he checked out of the game. With 7:53 to go, Northwestern led 60-55.
After the under-eight timeout, Singleton rolled to the basket and converted a layup off a feed from West. Clayton took it from Tunca on the next possession and finished, leading to a timeout from Penn State. The ‘Cats had built their lead to nine with just under six minutes left.
Northwestern forced a turnover out of the stoppage, and Reid hit two free throws. The ‘Cats continued to turn Penn State over, and Martinelli slammed in a dunk to give Northwestern a 13-point lead.
With under four minutes remaining, Dilione V knocked in a jumper, but Martinelli came right back with two free throws. Singleton put in back-to-back layups, and Northwestern finished the game with authority to win 76-66.
Northwestern will be back in action tomorrow night at 5:30pm CT on BTN.