Earl, conscious that another Lion loss was pending, walked with his head down to the opposite end of the court. Lepore proceeded to sink one of two free throws to give the Lions (10-11, 2-9 Big Ten) their third-straight home loss in the final moments of the game, a 71-67 setback in front of 12,462 fans Saturday at The Bryce Jordan Center.

"It's very tough," said a dejected and frustrated Earl after the loss. "It's like, when are we going to learn? When are we going to be tougher?"

Down three points with 14 seconds left in regulation, Penn State had a last chance. Guard Joe Crispin, however, couldn't get Earl the ball for the potential game-tying bucket and instead took a two-point jumper that rattled out.

The loss completed Penn State's 0-3 home stand, a run in which it lost those three games by a combined nine points. The Lions had a chance at the end of each defeat, but Saturday's letdown was partly induced by the earlier foul trouble of center Calvin Booth.

With 3:26 left in the game, Booth fouled out of the game and Wildcats center Evan Eschmeyer took advantage of replacement Carl Jackson to score eight points down the stretch.

"It was hard watching the rest of the game from the bench," Booth said. "I was frustrated that I couldn't be out there."

Eschmeyer, meanwhile, was loving it. With Booth gone, he increased Northwestern's lead to 66-63 by connecting on two baskets. But Earl refused to allow his Lions to fold easily, hitting a jumper to get the Lions within one.

The battle of sixth-year players played out for most of the second half, with Eschmeyer scoring 18 points and Earl 20 in the half. In the end, Eschmeyer used Jackson to finish with a game-high 28 points along with seven rebounds, four below his average of 11.2 boards per game.

"We're 0-10 without Eschmeyer. If he's not in the game we don't win," Northwestern coach Kevin O'Neill said. "The guys know that if they don't pass the ball inside I'll take them out of the game."

The Wildcats passed it to Eschmeyer, then benefited from double and triple teams. Guards Lepore and David Newman hurt the Lions from the perimeter as Lepore went 5 for 7 and Newman 3 for 5 from 3-point land.

Earl finished with a team-high 26 points including a 3 for 5 effort from behind the 3-point arc. In one stretch of the second half, Earl tallied eight straight points on two consecutive 3-pointers and a layup off a steal.

In addition, Booth managed to score 14 points and block four shots before fouling out. Forward Gyasi Cline-Heard scored 13.

"(We) took shots that were available," Lion coach Jerry Dunn said. "Northwestern's a good team. I thought Northwestern defended well, and I thought they were an influence on some of those shots."

The Lions now have a week's rest until they travel to face No. 11 Wisconsin next Saturday. Dunn said the break will be good to let his players rest their legs, but he is a little concerned about their mental states.

"The guys are only human," he said. "Right now we're trying to get to the point where they can play with confidence. As a coach I have to try and keep them at that certain level mentally."