Penn St. outlasts Illinois, 52-51

Wisconsin beat Minnesota and Purdue topped Northwestern in the Big Ten.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Talor Battle hit two free throws with seven seconds left and combined with David Jackson on a pivotal defensive play down the stretch as Penn State defeated Illinois 52-51 Saturday night.

Demetri McCamey hit a 3-pointer with 19 seconds left and the shot clock winding down to give the Illini a 51-50 lead, briefly deflating the Jordan Center crowd.

Seconds later, they were rocking again after Battle was fouled by Trent Meacham on a drive.

The freshman’s first foul shot bounced off the iron a couple of times before sailing through and the next one was perfect to put Penn State (12-12, 4-8 Big Ten) up for good.

Shaun Pruitt missed a desperate layup at the other end as Illinois (11-15, 3-10) couldn’t overcome a sluggish performance from the field (39 percent). Pruitt finished with 10 points and Meacham had 11.

Battle had 14 points and six assists and Stanley Pringle added 11 for Penn State, which defeated the Illini at home for the first time since 2001.

Wisconsin 65, Minnesota 56

MADISON, Wis. — Marcus Landry scored 12 points to lead five Wisconsin players in double figures.

The No. 15 Badgers (21-4, 11-2 Big Ten) were 25-for-33 from the line, including making 15 in two key second-half runs that gave them the lead for good and then put the game away.

Dan Coleman and Lawrence Westbrook scored 10 points each for the Gophers (15-9, 5-7).

Purdue 71, Northwestern 56

EVANSTON, Ill. — Freshman E’Twaun Moore scored a season-high 28 points and No. 19 Purdue, despite blowing a 10-point lead in the second half, beat Northwestern for its 11th straight victory.

Keaton Grant added 15 points for the Boilermakers (21-5 12-1 Big Ten). Kevin Coble scored 13 points for Northwestern.