STATE COLLEGE — Brooks Barnhizer scored a career-high 23 points, Boo Buie had 17 points and eight assists and Northwestern beat Penn State, 76-72, on Wednesday night for its first win in the series since the 2019-20 season.
Northwestern (12-3, 3-1 Big Ten), which snapped a five-game losing streak in the series, won at Penn State for the first time since Dec. 27, 2016.
Barnhizer made a reverse layup to give Northwestern a 72-65 lead with 1 minute, 50 seconds remaining, but Kanye Clary answered with a 3-pointer at the other end. The Wildcats were called for an offensive foul on their next possession, and Nick Kern Jr. made an open layup, off a nice drive and pass from Clary, to cut their deficit to 72-70.
Ryan Langborg went 1 of 2 at the free-throw line to extend Northwestern’s lead to 75-72. Kern missed the first free throw and intentionally missed the second, but he was whistled for a lane violation. Barnhizer sealed it with a free throw.
Ty Berry scored 16 points and made four 3-pointers for Northwestern.
Clary scored 25 points, going 10 of 10 from the free-throw line, for Penn State (8-8, 2-3). Kern added 14 points and Qudus Wahab had 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Nick Martinelli made a hook shot with 11:25 remaining in the second half to give Northwestern its first lead of the game at 56-55. It came during a 19-2 run — that included 15 straight points — as Penn State went six-plus minutes without making a field goal.
Penn State plays at No. 1 Purdue on Saturday.
