Rapid Reaction: Northwestern takes care of business in 76-66 win against Penn State

On a stormy night in Chicago, the ‘Cats rode their second-half momentum on the way to victory against the Nittany Lions.

For Northwestern, Nick Martinelli led the way with 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting and pulled down nine rebounds. Jayden Reid had 14 points and nine assists.

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For Penn State, Ivan Jurić had 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting and six rebounds. Josh Reed and Freddie Dilione V each had 14 points.

After the Nittany Lions won the tip, Jurić got the team on the board with a layup. A few possessions later, Martinelli nailed a 3-pointer for NU’s first points of the game. Following a successful challenge, Jake West drove in for two, giving the ‘Cats their first lead of the game at 5-4. Reid kept the scoring going, knocking down a triple, part of an eight-point run for Northwestern.

Jurić continued the back and forth start with two more as the Arrinten Page-less Wildcat lineup struggled with his 7-foot frame. Martinelli then went on a personal 6-0 run to bring the lead to 18-12. There was minimal defensive resistance from both teams as Northwestern took a four-point lead after the first eight minutes.

Tyler Kropp then got on the board with two free throws, but the teams slowed down offensively as the score stood at 23-21 with 7:50 remaining in the first half.

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Following the stoppage, both teams had multiple scoreless possessions before Kropp converted a putback layup. Penn State came right back, though, as Melih Tunca drilled a triple, and Reed converted an and-one. On that foul, Singleton picked up his third foul of the first half in just five minutes of playing time. Martinelli and West stopped the run, converting two consecutive layups to give NU the lead.

The ‘Cats had their fourth turnover out of the timeout, but after a stop, Martinelli put in two more off of Reid’s fifth assist. Kayden Mingo tied the game back up with a three, however, West made sure it was short-lived with a layup on the other end. Northwestern headed into halftime…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/rapid-reaction-northwestern-takes-care-013900158.html

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Publish date : 2026-03-11 01:39:00

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