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Nick Martinelli scores 24 points and Northwestern eases past Penn State 76-66 in Big Ten Tournament

CHICAGO (AP) — Nick Martinelli scored 24 points, Jayden Reid added 14, and Northwestern defeated Penn State 76-66 in a first-round game of the Big Ten Tournament on Tuesday.

Fifteenth-seeded Northwestern led 34-32 at halftime and the Wildcats’ biggest lead of the second half was seven points before they went on an 8-0 run to build a 68-55 lead with 3:48 remaining. Tre Singleton added a couple of inside buckets and the lead was 74-60 with a minute to go.

Martinelli, who led the Big Ten in scoring during the regular season at 22.7 points per game, made 10 of 17 shots. He grabbed nine rebounds and Reid had nine assists.

Ivan Juric led 18th-seeded Penn State (12-20) with 22 points. Josh Reed and Freddie Dilione V each scored 14 and Kayden Mingo had 13 points.

The Wildcats led for a total of 13 1/2 minutes in the first half but not by more than six points. Penn State last led 29-28 with four minutes remaining in the half before Northwestern went up 34-32 at the break.

Northwestern won the season’s only regular-season matchup, 94-73 in January.

Up next

Northwestern plays 10th-seeded Indiana in the second round on Wednesday.

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Hawkeyes are set to play Vanderbilt in a November women’s basketball game in Sioux City, Iowa

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Vanderbilt and Iowa, both ranked in the top 10 late last season, will meet in a women's basketball game early next season in northwest Iowa, the schools announced Tuesday. The neutral-site game is set for Nov. 15 at the Tyson Events Center, which is 290 miles from Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City. Vanderbilt is 4-0 all-time against the Hawkeyes. This will be the teams' first meeting since 1997. The Commodores are expected to return national scoring leader Mikayla Blakes. She averaged 27 points per game and was Southeastern Conference player of the year. Vanderbilt was ranked as high as No. 5 and finished No. 10 with a 29-5 record after reaching the NCAA Sweet 16.
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