UNIVERSITY PARK — On March 3, Penn State lost to the Northwestern Wildcats at the Bryce Jordan Center. It was the second consecutive loss for the Nittany Lions, who have won two of their last three home games, against Iowa and Nebraska on Feb. 17 and Feb. 25, respectively.
Penn State had three starters in double figures from their frontcourt and backcourt. Senior forward Brandon Taylor finished with a team-leading 17 points (3-6 3-PTR), point guard Shep Garner collected 13 points (2-5 3-PTR) and shooting guard Josh Reaves added 11.
Penn State shot much better from the field in the second half than in the first half, putting up a 45.8 percent field goal clip (11-24) after shooting only 35.7 percent in the first (10-28).
Taylor was 7-for-14 from the field, while point guard Isaiah Washington missed a double-digit point total by two points, collecting eight points on the evening. Washington shot 75 percent from the field and 66.7 percent from 3-point range.
Penn State collectively shot 40.4 percent (21-52) from the field in the game, while Northwestern shot 48.1 percent. For free-throw percentage, the Nittany Lions shot 83.3 from the charity stripe, compared to the Wildcats’ 75 percent.
Northwestern had two players in double figures from their backcourt. Guard Tre Demps had a team-leading 23 points in 40 minutes and guard Bryant McIntosh followed with 17 points in 37 minutes.
Penn State bounced back on March 6, with a thrilling double-overtime win over Illinois on “Team Ream Day” at the Bryce Jordan Center.
