Penn State men’s basketball erased a 10-point second half deficit on the road to defeat Northwestern 74-70 Wednesday night, improving to 2-2 on the year in conference play and reminding everyone that basketball is a far easier sport when the shots actually fall.
Because Penn State has been in this position before over the years. The Nittany Lions have been trailing on the road in the second half, slowly but surely starting to make a push in the game’s final minutes. And on occasion those pushes have resulted in victories, but the journey of Penn State basketball is paved with the almost: the wins that almost happened, the comebacks that almost were completed.
While each game is its own story, there have been many moments over the years in which Penn State players have been open. Take a Myles Dread three against Michigan State last season in East Lansing for example, a beautifully executed play that resulted in no points and a loss. You do everything right, and yet the most important part fails to happen.
On Wednesday night the shots fell, and fell when Penn State needed them most. By the game’s end Penn State had turned a 10-point deficit with 10:15 to play into an 31-17 run, making key shot after key shot in the process. It wasn’t all that different than many of the losses Penn State fans have seen before, except this time the comeback was completed and those crucial shots fell in crucial moments.
During a night that saw the lead change on eight occasions, no swing was bigger than Seth Lundy’s three with just 36 seconds to go to give Penn State a three-point lead. Then Lundy was timely again, laying in a basket as he was fouled with 16 seconds to go in regulation to put Penn State ahead by five.
All told the Nittany Lions made 10 of their final 15 shots from the field, missing two shots in a row just once in the final 12:20 of regulation. Meanwhile it was Northwestern going cold when it counted most, missing eight of its final 14 shots, despite a 22-point effort, including 5-of-8 from beyond the arc, by Wildcat star Boo Buie, half-brother of Northwestern assistant and Nittany Lion great Talor Battle.
“These guys are making timely shots at the right time,” Penn State coach Micah Shrewsberry said after the game.
Penn State led the game for just under three minutes of regulation while getting 23 points from Lundy on a solid 5-for-9 night from three. Jalen Pickett continued to grow into his own, pouring in 18 points while dishing out four assists. The Nittany Lions outscored Northwestern 16-7 from the bench and won the rebounding battle 40-28, with John Harrar leading the way yet again with eight rebounds to go with his nine points.
The Nittany Lions will return home to face No. 3 Purdue at the Bryce Jordan Center on Saturday night, taking on Shrewsberry’s most recent employer. Penn State will need to make shots on Saturday as well and perhaps avoid a 10-point deficit in the process. If they do both those things, the Nittany Lions could pick up their first win in program history against the nation’s No. 3 team.
