Penn State losing streak hits 9 after loss to Northwestern
EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) – Kevin Coble had 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead Northwestern over Penn State 53-51 Saturday. Tim Doyle added 15 points as the Wildcats (12-12, 2-9 Big Ten) broke a four-game losing streak and moved out of last place in the Big Ten.
“It’s just good to get a win,” Northwestern coach Bill Carmody said. “We hadn’t gotten a win in a while. We certainly almost let this one go, but things worked out. There was a little luck involved.”
The Nittany Lions (10-13, 1-9) have lost nine straight since beating Northwestern at home by 26 points on Jan. 3. Geary Claxton scored 16 and Mike Walker 12 to lead Penn State, which is winless in seven road games.
Northwestern led by as many as 14 but failed to put away the Nittany Lions because of 6-for-21 shooting in the second half. Penn State used a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to 49-48 with 2:55 left.
As the shot clock expired, Northwestern guard Craig Moore hit a 35-foot, off-balance shot to push the lead back to 52-48. But Mike Walker responded with a 3-pointer that cut the lead to one.
With 19.4 seconds left, Northwestern freshman Jeff Ryan stole an inbounds pass and made one of two free throws. Doyle defended Claxton on a potential tying layup and came away with a rebound.
“That’s the way this season has gone for us,” Penn State coach Ed DeChellis said. “We’re down one point and this kid shoots an over-his-head 30-footer and it goes in. We go from down one to down four. He had one second on the shot clock. Sometimes that’s the difference between winning and losing.”
Doyle sat for 10:02 in the second half after drawing his fourth foul with 14:19 remaining. Penn State went on a 13-6 run with Doyle out of the game.
“It was extremely tough sitting there,” Doyle said. “Offensively, we go into a freeze when I’m not out there.”
Doyle and Coble combined for 21 points in the first half on 9-for-12 shooting to help the Wildcats to a 37-27 lead. Northwestern hit 60 percent of its shots in the first half and went on a 10-0 run over 5:28 to turn an 11-10 deficit into a 20-11 lead. Doyle had five points in the run, Vince Scott scored on a tip-in and Craig Moore hit a 3.
After Claxton broke the streak with a jumper, Doyle responded with two layups to make it 24-13.