Penn State Basketball: Wildcats Squeak By Nittany Lions 67-66

A pair of free throws by John Shurna with two seconds left sealed a crucial victory for Northwestern’s NCAA Tournament hopes, knocking off Penn State, 67-66, Saturday night.

Penn State held a 66-65 lead with 14 seconds remaining, but Jon Graham failed to convert from the line, giving the Wildcats the final possession down only one. After an apparent block by Graham on a shot by Shurna, a foul was called on Graham, giving Northwestern a chance to take the lead.

‘We had 57 possessions,’ Penn State coach Pat Chambers said after the game. ‘We had 57 possessions where we could have made up the points.’ 

After Shurna converted on both free throws, a long 3-pointer by Tim Frazier fell short, giving Northwestern its first win in the Bryce Jordan Center in the last eight attempts.

Frazier led the Nittany Lions with 23 points and eight assists, going 9-for-17 from the field. Ross Travis was an unexpected contributor pulling down nine rebounds while scoring 10 points. The nine rebounds by Travis marked a career high.

Penn State started the game strong, opening up an 18-10 lead with 12:09 left in the half. Northwestern then switched to a 1-3-1 defense, which troubled the Nittany Lions, who turned the ball over seven times in the half.

Northwestern’s early second-half 7-0 run extended its 34-28 halftime lead to 43-34 with 15:15 left in the game. Penn State tied the game at 49 with nine minutes to go behind strong play by Travis, Frazier and Graham. The trio of Nittany Lions combined for 43 points and 16 rebounds.

‘I’m proud of the way the team fought,’ Chambers said. ‘We knew Northwestern was a desperate team, but we’re playing for something too. We’re playing for Penn State pride.’

Penn State falls to (12-17, 4-12 Big Ten) on the year and will travel to Purdue on Wednesday before heading back to Happy Valley to close out the regular season against Michigan next Sunday.

Game Notes:

Tim Frazier scored 20-plus points for the 15th time this season, which is good enough for third most in the nation and leads the Big Ten.

Cam Woodyard matched his career-high with seven rebounds.

Tim Frazier now ranks second on Penn State’s season assists list with 183. He passed Joe Crispin (178) and Dan Earl (181). He only needs six assists to pass Talor Battle’s mark of 189 from 2009.

Penn State is 10-5 when surpassing 60 points in a game.

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Following the game, Pat Chambers made a quick run toward a referee while shouting at him about the end of game sequence. These are his comments regarding that outburst.