Badgers hold on for needed 79-74 OT win over Penn State
Wisconsin travelled to State College and beat Penn State 79-74 in overtime on Wednesday. The narrow victory was their third win in their last 10 games and second over the last three contests. On top of that, the team was able to get a season sweep over their Big Ten opponent.
The Badgers were particularly effective from deep against the Nittany Lions, going 11-for-24 from three. Connor Essegian (18 points) and Chucky Hepburn (19 points) combined for nine three-pointers, making four and five respectively.
In addition to the two guards, Tyler Wahl returned to form Wednesday, scoring 16 points (6-10 FG, 0-1 3Pt, 4-6 FT) with six rebounds, eight assists, two blocks and a steal over a team-high 42 minutes. The double-digit point performance ended a three-game drought for the senior forward.
Wisconsin was able to take a 35-29 advantage into halftime but Penn State responded in the second half, knotting it up at 68 at the end of regulation.
In OT, all five of the Badgers’ starters were able to score and Wisconsin was able to escape with a victory, outscoring the Nittany Lions 11-6 in the extra period.
For Penn State, Jalen Pickett led the way with 17 points (8-19 FG, 1-5 3Pt), eight rebounds and eight assists over 41 minutes. The team also had three other players reach double-digit points with Camren Wynter (15), Seth Lundy (14) and Andrew Funk (10) getting to that mark in the loss.
The must-needed win for the Badgers should silence the Greg Gard critics for at least a fews days.
With the win, Wisconsin improved to 14-9 overall and 6-7 in Big Ten contests this season. They’ll return to action Saturday on the road versus Nebraska (11-14) at 2 PM.
Penn State dropped to 14-10 (5-8 in Big Ten) with the loss will look to get in win column when they travel to take on Maryland (16-8) on Saturday.
