National Basketball Association
Wisconsin 89, Penn St. 72
When: 1:00 PM ET, Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Where: Kohl Center, Madison, Wisconsin
Officials:
# Lewis Garrison, # Lamont Simpson, # Gene Steratore
Attendance:
17279
By SportsDirect Inc.
No. 4 Wisconsin 89, Penn State 72: Frank Kaminsky recorded his sixth double-double of the season with 18 points and 14 rebounds as the host Badgers cruised in their Big Ten opener.
Nigel Hayes led a balanced attack with 21 points for Wisconsin (13-1, 1-0), which raced past Penn State (12-2, 0-1) after trailing by three points late in the first half. Hayes shot 7-of-9 from the field, Sam Dekker added 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting and Traevon Jackson scored 16 points as the Badgers shot a season-best 63.8 percent from the field.
D.J. Newbill, the Big Ten’s leading scorer at 21.4 points entering the game, scored 29 on 11-of-18 shooting as the Nittany Lions’ 10-game winning streak ended. Shep Garner and Geno Thorpe each scored 11, but Brandon Taylor, Penn State’s second-leading scorer, finished with two points.
Newbill scored nine of Penn State’s first 13 points, helping the Nittany Lions rally from an 8-0 deficit to go ahead 13-12 on Newbill’s jumper just over seven minutes into the contest. Penn State held a 30-27 advantage with six minutes left before Hayes scored nine points to fuel a 16-6 surge, sending Wisconsin into halftime leading 43-36.
Dekker hit two jumpers in the opening minutes of the second half and Hayes’ three-point play pushed the Badgers’ advantage to 54-38 with just over 16 minutes to play. Thorpe scored four points during a 7-0 run that brought the Nittany Lions within 54-45, but Duje Dukan’s three-point play sparked an 19-6 Wisconsin burst, with Kaminsky scoring six points in the run as the Badgers stretched their lead to 73-51 on Dekker’s basket with a little more than 7½ minutes to play.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Newbill hit his first six shots from the field but did not score in the final 9:46 of the first half. … Hayes has scored in double figures in four of his past five games. … Wisconsin has won its past six meetings with Penn State and leads the series 32-10.
Top Game Performances
| Penn St. |
|
Wisconsin |
|
D.J. Newbill 29 |
Scoring |
Nigel Hayes 21 |
|
Shep Garner 2 |
Assists |
Nigel Hayes 3 |
|
Ross Travis 5 |
Rebounds |
Frank Kaminsky 14 |
|
D.J. Newbill 5 |
Free Throws Made |
Traevon Jackson 6 |
|
D.J. Newbill 2 |
Steals |
Traevon Jackson 2 |
|
N/A |
Blocks |
Matt Ferris 1 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Penn St.
|
72 |
53.7 |
5-12 |
9-14 |
7 |
20 |
0 |
5 |
9 |
| Wisconsin
|
89 |
63.8 |
6-13 |
23-28 |
9 |
25 |
3 |
4 |
9 |
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