Feb. 13, 2011
Site: University Park, Pa. (Bryce Jordan Center)
Score: Penn State 65, Northwestern 41
Records: NU (14-10, 4-9 Big Ten), Penn State (13-11, 6-7 Big Ten)
Next NU Event: Thursday, Feb. 17 -- vs. Iowa (Welsh-Ryan Arena), 8 p.m.
Tickets: Available at NUsports.com or by calling 888-GO-PURPLE
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- A miserable shooting performance doomed Northwestern in a 65-41 loss to Penn State at Bryce Jordan Arena Sunday afternoon. JerShon Cobb scored all of his team-high 10 points in the second half for the Wildcats.
NU shot just 34.6 percent from the field in the game, including connecting on only two of 21 3-point attempts.
The opening eight minutes of play was a back-and-forth battle and the teams exchanged the lead eight times. John Shurna's runner gave the Wildcats a 13-12 lead with 12:12 remaining in the opening stanza before NU went ice cold from the field.
Northwestern couldn't buy another bucket until Michael Thompson converted a lay-in with 2:55 to go in the half. The Nittany Lions scored 10 straight points during the Wildcats' drought to go up by nine.
Remarkably, Thompson's basket cut NU's deficit to just seven points before Penn State took a 24-15 lead into the break.
The Wildcats entered the game leading the Big Ten with an average of over nine 3-point field goals per game, while the Nittany Lions were last in the league in 3-point field goal percentage defense. However, Northwestern failed to connect on any of its nine attempts from beyond the arc over the opening 20 minutes of play.
Penn State would net nine of the first 10 points in the second half to extend its lead to 33-16. The Wildcats were never able get their offense untracked to make a run.
It wasn't until 9:33 remained in the contest that NU connected on its first 3-pointer of the game when Cobb finally found the bottom of the net.
Northwestern returns to action at 8 p.m. Thursday as it hosts Iowa. Tickets are available at NUsports.com or by calling 888-GO-PURPLE.
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