Penn State Basketball: Nittany Lions prevail over Northwestern in second round of Big Ten Tournament
All season long, Penn State has turned to Tony Carr in the big moments.
Just as he’s done throughout the year, Carr delivered again on Thursday night.
The sophomore point guard hit six three-pointers an finished with 25 points and four assists en route to a crucial victory for the Nittany Lions over Northwestern, 65-57.
As a team, No. 7-seed Penn State hit 13 shots from behind the arc to propel them to the victory. In addition to Carr’s six threes, Shep Garner hit four of his own and Josh Reaves added three more baskets from deep.
The Nittany Lions needed to hit from the outside with sophomore center Mike Watkins sidelined with a lower body injury.
Penn State started off the game well offensively and lead almost exclusively for the first 10 minutes of the opening half.
However, Northwestern went on a 17-4 run to seize a 27-20 lead with just under five minutes to play. The Nittany Lions struggled mightily on offense before closing the half on a 10-3 run of their own to even the score at 30 heading into the break.
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Penn State really began to heat up early in the second half. That, coupled with Northwestern foul trouble allowed the Nittany Lions to take a 39-32 lead and Penn State was suddenly on fire.
The Wildcats would respond though, taking advantage of Penn State’s lack of a presence down low en route to a 16-6 run and securing a 48-48 lead with just over 10 minutes remaining in the game.
All of the momentum in the gym was with Northwestern, but a crowd-silencing three from Josh Reaves evened the score before both teams went back-and-forth in the final minutes.
The Wildcats took a 54-52 lead with about four minutes to play, before the Nittany Lions saved themselves with the three-point shot once again.
Three straight triples, two from Carr and one from Reaves gave Penn State a 61-54 lead with about two minutes left in the contest.
This was a lead that the Nittany Lions wouldn’t let go of on their way to a victory that kept their slim NCAA Tournament hopes alive.
With the win, Penn State advances to the quarterfinal round where it’ll take on the No. 2 seed Ohio State Buckeyes on Friday night. The Nittany Lions have a chance to give their tournament resume a shot in the arm if they can beat the Buckeyes for a third time this season.
