What began as a fairly amicable game of hugs and kisses off the glass turned into a physical second half as Northwestern blitzed Penn State 65-52 Saturday at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston.
The Wildcats (11-11, 6-5 Big Ten) were down 25-23 at halftime but outscored the Nittany Lions 30-2 at the outset of the second period.
“It was very frustrating. I thought the first half we kind of played the way we needed to play to be successful and the guys did a pretty good job,” said Penn State coach Ed DeChellis, whose team has lost 20 straight conference road games. “In the second half . . . our kids just lost total focus.”
Northwestern won its third straight game and fourth out of five to remain one of the Big Ten’s hottest teams heading into Saturday’s road challenge against Michigan State. Jitim Young (17 points), Vedran Vukusic (17) and Mohamed Hachad (16) led the Wildcats.
“The defense was very good. And then on the break, we were making the right choices,” said NU coach Bill Carmody, whose team dropped a 63-61 overtime decision at Penn State on Jan. 28. “I actually tried to calm them down at halftime. I thought we were doing OK.”
The Wildcats opened the second half with a 14-0 run before sophomore guard Evan Seacat fell to the floor near midcourt after running into a blind pick from Penn State 7-foot junior Jan Jagla. Seacat lay motionless on the floor for at least 10 seconds as play continued before referee Tom Clark called time.
After a 10-minute delay, Seacat was taken off on a stretcher to Evanston Hospital, where he was expected to be kept overnight for observation.
“He said he was feeling some pain in his neck, so they just took him to the hospital to observe it,” said Carmody.
“I was really surprised because I didn’t think it was that hard of a hit,” Jagla said. “I am really sorry; I hope he’s OK.”
Penn State (9-12, 3-7), loser of seven of its last eight, outrebounded the Wildcats 42-22 but committed 20 turnovers to Northwestern’s 8.
“We just didn’t stick any of [the rebounds] back,” DeChellis said.
Jagla finished with 16 points to lead Penn State, even though he did not start for the first time this season. He also matched teammate Aaron Johnson with a game-high 10 rebounds.
The Wildcats’ second-half run was jump-started with a highlight-film play that began with a Hachad steal. He drove to the other end of the floor before delivering a behind-the-back pass that Davor Duvancic saved along the baseline and batted out to Vukusic, who drained a three-pointer to give Northwestern a 52-27 advantage.
“Coach doesn’t let me do that too much. I have to cut down on my turnovers,” Hachad said. “From time to time, if I have a chance, I go for it.”
