Talor Battle gift wraps two points for Billy Oliver with a beautiful dump to the two-time redshirt freshman. Oliver isn't much of an offensive contributor, but it would have been hard to screw that up.
This half feels a lot like the first half of the Michigan game last weekend. Penn State isn't playing very well offensively, but it's doing well enough to nurse a decent lead thanks to some strong interior defense. The Nittany Lions just better hope Northwestern doesn't heat up from 3-point territory like the Wolverines did.
Wildcats are racking up the turnovers here big time. Penn State can thank that for its lead as much as anything else.
Cammeron Woodyard is seeing some extended minutes here as Talor Battle gets a much needed breather. He just grabbed another rebound and is up to five for the game.
That's the half. Penn State leads 24-15. Might be Penn State's best first half in a long time, which actually isn't saying much.
Halftime entertainment today is the mascot basketball game.
Here's your first half stat pack.
Talor Battle leads Penn State in scoring with eight points. Cammeron Woodyard's five rebounds off the bench are a game high. Penn State shot only 36% in the half, but held Northwestern to 29%. Lions outrebounded Northwestern 17-11 as well.
Shockingly, the Wildcats did not hit a triple in that half (0-9). That's likely to change after halftime. Penn State needs to be ready to weather the storm from deep when it happens. Michael Thompson leads Northwestern in scoring with six points. He also has four rebounds, joining Drew Crawford for the team lead in that department.