From Mirror, wire reports

UNIVERSITY PARK — Zach Hicks scored 20 points to lead four in double figures and Penn State held off Northwestern for an 84-80 victory on Thursday night.

Ace Baldwin Jr. scored 15 of his 17 points from the line and had seven assists and five steals for Penn State. Puff Johnson added 11 points and Freddie Dilione V scored 10. The Nittany Lions made half of their 44 field-goal attempts and shot 36 of 45 (80%) from the free-throw line.

Northwestern’s Brooks Barnhizer scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for his seventh consecutive double-double. He also had eight assists, three steals and one block. Nick Martinelli added 18 points for the Wildcats, who shot 28 of 61 (46%) overall and 18 of 21 (86%) from the line.

Penn State used a 7-0 spurt to take an 80-75 advantage with 3:05 remaining. Northwestern had cut the deficit to 82-80 when Ty Berry missed a potential go-ahead 3-pointer with 6.7 seconds remaining.

Jalen Reach was underneath and scored the put back but the bucket was negated after review. Northwestern regained possession, but Baldwin forced a turnover and then sealed it at the the line with 1.6 left.

Penn State (12-2, 2-1 Big Ten Conference) has won six of its last seven games and is 9-0 at home. Northwestern (10-4, 1-2) ended a a four-game win streak.

There were 14 lead changes, seven ties and a combined 33 turnovers.

Northwestern takes to the road to face 20th-ranked Purdue on Sunday. Purdue is coming off a road win at Minnesota. The Nittany Lions host Indiana on Sunday. The Hoosiers are coming off an 84-74 win at home over Rutgers to improve to 11-3.

Game notes: Baldwin’s 10th point of the game was his 1,500 of his collegiate career. He also recorded his 300th steal of his career, too. He is only the ninth player in NCAA Division I history to have that many points and steals, as well as 700-plus assists. … Penn State’s 12-2 record is its best since the 2019-20 team also started 12-2. … The Nittany Lions have now won 12-straight games at home dating back to last season. … Penn State was 36-for-45 from the free throw line. The 36 made free throws are a Penn State record in a Big Ten game. … The Nittany Lions owned a 36-18 advantage at the charity stripe and drew 30 fouls. … Nittany Lions freshman Miles Goodman returned from injury to make his collegiate debut with the Nittany Lions. He saw nine minutes of action but did not score.

NORTHWESTERN (10-4): Martinelli 5-13 8-10 18, Nicholson 2-4 2-3 6, Barnhizer 8-16 3-3 20, Berry 1-6 0-0 3, Leach 2-5 4-4 8, Windham 3-5 0-0 8, Mullins 3-5 1-1 7, Hunger 1-2 0-0 2, Ciaravino 3-5 0-0 8. Totals 28-61 18-21 80.

PENN STATE (12-2): Hicks 5-8 7-9 20, Konan Niederhauser 3-7 3-5 9, Baldwin 1-7 15-16 17, Dilione 5-9 0-0 10, Johnson 2-3 7-8 11, Dunn 3-6 1-1 8, Kern 3-4 3-4 9, Goodman 0-0 0-2 0, Carter 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-44 36-45 84.

Halftime–Penn St. 37-34. 3-Point Goals–Northwestern 6-22 (Ciaravino 2-4, Windham 2-4, Barnhizer 1-2, Berry 1-6, Mullins 0-1, Leach 0-2, Martinelli 0-3), Penn St. 4-15 (Hicks 3-6, Dunn 1-2, Johnson 0-1, Dilione 0-2, Baldwin 0-4). Rebounds–Northwestern 27 (Barnhizer 9), Penn St. 28 (Konan Niederhauser 9). Assists–Northwestern 19 (Barnhizer 8), Penn St. 13 (Baldwin 7). Total Fouls–Northwestern 30, Penn St. 17.