Northwestern Defeats Penn State 68-56
EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Drew Crawford scored 21 points Sunday night, reaching the 1,000-point milestone for his Northwestern career, and the Wildcats snapped a two-game losing streak with a 68-56 victory over Penn State.
Crawford, a junior forward, is the 31st Northwestern player to top 1,000 career points and the 17th to reach the mark in just three seasons.
Dave Sobolewski scored a career-high 20 points while John Shurna added 17 for the Wildcats (11-3, 1-1 Big Ten).
Tim Frazier led Penn State (8-7, 0-2) with 16 points. Jermaine Marshall had 14 and Cammeron Woodyard added 11 for the Nittany Lions.
Crawford, who has 1,002 career points, hit the milestone with a 3-pointer with 10:07 remaining.
Northwestern used an 8-0 second-half run to take control at 48-40 and extended the lead to 58-47 on Sobolewski's three-point play with 7:27 to play.
The lead never dipped below nine the rest of the way.
Sunday's game showcased the Big Ten's top three scorers, including Shurna, who led the conference entering the game with an 18.8-point average. Crawford was next at 17.7 while Penn State's Frazier was third at 17.4.
Penn State led 26-23 after a first half noted more for shooting woes than offensive production.
The Nittany Lions were just 8 for 31 (26 percent) from the field after 20 minutes as Frazier led with seven points. The Wildcats were 7 for 19 (37 percent) as Sobolewski collected 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. Both teams were 3 for 11 from beyond the 3-point arc.
Penn State beat Northwestern twice last season, including a 66-52 decision on Feb. 24, 2011 in Evanston.
The Wildcats dropped their Big Ten opener Wednesday at No. 2 Ohio State 87-54. The Nittany Lions fell 71-53 at No. 18 Michigan to start conference play.
Northwestern is home on Wednesday against Illinois while Penn State hosts Purdue on Thursday.
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