For Northwestern coach Bill Carmody, the game-changing moment in Wednesday’s 79-68 loss to Penn State in the Big Ten opener came with 10 minutes 11 seconds to play in the first half.
That was when sophomore forward Kevin Coble made his season debut for the Wildcats and received a standing ovation from the crowd at Welsh-Ryan Arena. That also was when junior guard Craig Moore went to the bench after being whistled for his second foul.
Carmody wished the circumstances had been different and Moore had been able to stay on the court and play with Coble, last year’s leading scorer and rebounder who had missed the previous nine games to be with his ill mother.
“When Moore went out things went out of whack,” Carmody said. “When he came back in he went out of whack.”
After getting the game’s first six points Moore scored only two during the duration. After gaining an early nine-point lead Northwestern subsequently couldn’t cope with a high-powered Penn State offense that made 30 of 53 shots.
In winning their sixth straight game, the Nittany Lions (9-4, 1-0) made two game-changing runs, a 14-4 run that got them back into the game in the first half and a 20-4 run that broke open the game at the start of the second half.
Down by 15 points following that onslaught, the closest the Wildcats (5-5, 0-1) came thereafter was nine points with 50 seconds to play.
“We played Monday night and we had very little time to prepare,” Penn State coach Ed DeChellis said. “I was concerned about making shots and guarding them, and we did both.”
The teams don’t meet again, but the Wildcats probably will be seeing Penn State’s robust 6-foot-5-inch forwards Jamelle Cornley and Geary Claxton in their nightmares. Cornley piled up 22 points and 11 rebounds and Claxton amassed 18 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots. Between them Cornley and Claxton had three more rebounds than Northwestern’s team total.
“Those guys are like men against boys,” Carmody said. “Their guard play was really good too.”
Reserve guard Stanley Pringle scored 17 points and freshman point guard Talor Battle scored 14 in the second half following a scoreless first half.
Northwestern’s freshman point guard Michael Thompson made an auspicious Big Ten debut, scoring 17 points, assisting on 10 baskets and turning the ball over only once.
Coble hit 4 of 9 shots in scoring 11 points. He also had two rebounds, two assists, two turnovers, a block and a steal to show for his 23 minutes of playing time.
“It was great seeing the signs and the standing ovation when I went in,” Coble said. “It took a while to settle down. Once I did, I felt pretty good. It was a little surreal, being back … finally making it to this date and knowing my mom is doing well.”
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nmilbert@tribune.com
