Much to the chagrin of Myles Dread and Micah Shrewsberry, Penn State sophomore Dallion Johnson turned down a corner three, instead passing the ball to Dread for a play that would subsequently lead to a shot clock violation.
As the two headed to the bench, Dread let Johnson know a thing or two and Shrewsberry didn’t wait long to offer up his own pointed two-cents. Shoot the ball.
After a first half that saw him attempt just one shot, Johnson took the advice to heart, pouring in 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc. It was like watching a flower grow and bloom right before your eyes, a small moment a confidence building play. Johnson has made his mark on Penn State this season at times, but not to the extent that he did on Friday night as the Nittany Lions pulled ahead late to beat Northwestern 67-60 at the Bryce Jordan Center.
“You know he can shoot the ball,” Northwestern coach Chris Collins said after the game. “On the scouting report it say no threes, so we didn’t do a great job of that – obviously. They play through [Jalen] Pickett they play through [Seth Lundy] you know those are their two guys. Dread gives them that weapon as a three point shooter and then John [Harrar] does what he does. Dallion is another guy – if you put extra attention on Pickett on those drives or on Harrar in the post, he’s a guy that can make shots, so it’s not that you say make him beat us. You just got to try to get him off the three point line and we weren’t able to do that.”
Friday evening was transitional in many ways as Penn State celebrated Senior Night, Harrar putting together an 11-point, 20-rebound effort that marked a career high on the boards while Johnson led the Nittany Lions in scoring. The two play vastly different positions, but it was a reminder that for every good player who leaves a program, another must take his place to continue or grown on the success of his predecessor.
Well before Johnson ever blossomed in the second half, Penn State found itself in a bit of a grind against a Northwestern team also looking for its seventh Big Ten win of the season. A back-and-forth affair eventually lead to the Wildcats taking a 28-22 halftime lead as the Nittany Lions shot just 26% from the floor and turned the ball over seven times in the opening 20 minutes of play.
Halftime provided Penn State with a much needed break as the Nittany Lions came out in the second half making seven of their first nine shots to turn an early second half seven-point deficit into a three-point lead with 13:01 to go in regulation.
Northwestern would respond with a run of its own, making four-straight baskets for a 9-0 spurt that gave the Wildcats a five-point lead with 6:51 to play.
It was then that Johnson seemed to come into his own already after having made two shots from beyond the arc earlier in the half. With Penn State in desperate need of a basket and some momentum, Johnson splashed home back-to-back threes in less than a minute to give Penn State a 49-48 lead, a lead the Nittany Lions would relinquish less than a minute later but would never give up again after an 11-0 run put Penn State up 60-50 with 1:23 to go.
Northwestern would cut the margin to just four with 39 seconds to play behind a handful of Penn State miscues and good fortune, but would get no closer.
“We adjusted in terms of how we played,” Shrewsberry said after the game. “What we’re doing in the second half to force [Northwestern’s help defense] then once we start forcing help, now we’re starting to get open books and the shots that we wanted.”
Penn State ended the night going 13-for-33 from beyond the arc but shot 9-for-16 in the second half from range with four different Nittany Lions making baskets from deep.
With seven Big Ten wins on the season Penn State will return to close out the home slate against Nebraska with a real chance to make it eight wins. The Nittany Lions then head to Illinois and Rutgers to close out the regular season.
