Dallion Johnson made five 3-pointers and scored 15 points, all in the second half, as host Penn State rallied from a six-point halftime deficit to defeat Northwestern 67-60 Friday night in University Park, Pa.

John Harrar had 11 points and a career-high 20 rebounds for the Nittany Lions (12-13, 7-10 Big Ten), who improved their chances of earning a first-round bye in next month's Big Ten tournament. Johnson shot 5-for-9 from long distance.

Sam Sessoms and Seth Lundy each scored 12 points for Penn State, and Jalen Pickett had 11 points and six assists.

Two consecutive turnovers by Sessoms against Northwestern's press in the final minute gave the Wildcats (13-14, 6-12) a chance, but Chase Audige was off the mark on a 3-point attempt that could have cut the deficit to one.

Penn State then iced the win by making six straight foul shots for a 67-57 lead.

Pete Nance scored 12 points, and Audige and Ty Berry each scored 11 for the visitors. Boo Buie had seven assists.

Pickett's layup put the Nittany Lions ahead 51-50 with 4:30 left. After dry possessions by both teams, Johnson's three increased the lead to four. Nance missed a short jumper and Myles Dread drained a 3-pointer to put Penn State up 57-50 with 2:30 to go.

Penn State sank eight of its first 11 shots in the second half to erase a six-point halftime deficit and take a 43-39 lead on Lundy's three with 11:30 left.

But Penn State cooled off again, allowing the Wildcats to put together a 9-0 run for a 48-43 advantage with 6:51 to go. Nance's basket in the paint capped the run, which was aided by missed one-and-one free throws by Penn State's Harrar and Johnson.

However, Johnson then hit back-to-back 3-pointers to restore the lead to Penn State at 49-48 with 5:28 to go.

Penn State entered the game 10th in the Big Ten in field-goal percentage at 43.6, but it was held to 26.7 percent in the first half. The Nittany Lions managed only seven points in the final 12 minutes before intermission, enabling the Wildcats to turn a 15-15 tie into a 28-22 lead at the break.

Nance's three with 6:11 left in the half put Northwestern ahead, 21-20, and the Wildcats' Berry made two free throws with 1:21 to go to close the scoring for the half.

--Field Level Media