End game
Cagers fall to Northwestern, 54-44

By MICHAEL LELLO
Collegian Staff Writer

CHICAGO -- It's all over.

After winning three straight conference games to end the regular season, the Penn State men's basketball team needed to beat Northwestern in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament to advance to the National Invitation Tournament.

Instead, the Nittany Lions (13-14, 5-11 Big Ten) blew a one-time 12-point first-half lead and dropped the game, 54-44.

"It's disappointing for us, obviously," Penn State coach Jerry Dunn said. "I feel very badly for our two seniors (Calvin Booth and Dan Earl). It's very disappointing to not be playing tomorrow."

Penn State jumped out to an early lead thanks in part to Joe Crispin's three straight 3-pointers. The nine consecutive Lion points were half of Crispin's team-leading 18, making him the only Lion to score in double figures. Northwestern (15-12, 5-10) responded with a 7-1 run, but both teams shot poorly in the first half, with the Lions hitting 26 percent from the field and the Wildcats hitting just 21 percent.

Both teams' dismal shooting, and Penn State's holding Wildcat center Evan Eschmeyer to three points, led to a paltry 20-17 halftime score.

"We obviously didn't start the game off very well," Northwestern coach Kevin O'Neill said. "We were just about awful to start off."

The double-team defense of Booth and either Gyasi Cline-Heard or Carl Jackson on Eschmeyer forced him to take difficult shots or pass the ball out to his teammates.

"I just think I was able to get to a couple of shots and make him think a little," said Booth, who scored seven points, pulled down 12 rebounds and blocked five shots.

In the second half, the Lions altered their defense, changing from the successful double-team of Eschmeyer to a one-on-one matchup with Booth. Eschmeyer thrived in the new scheme and finished the game with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

"(In the second half) I was able to work more freely and get my shot off cleaner," Eschmeyer said.

The sixth-year center wasn't the only Wildcat to come alive. Freshman forward Steve LePore led the low-scoring affair for Northwestern with 14 points and classmate Tavaras Hardy added 12 points.

Penn State's defensive adjustments may have backfired, but Northwestern's half-time changes worked.

"They just tightened down the clamps," Earl said, "and we didn't make our shots."

While both teams struggled from the field, only the Wildcats were given the opportunity to convert from the foul line. They hit 12 of their 17 attempts, while the Lions made four of seven.

The Wildcats will face No. 1 seed Michigan State in the second round at 3 p.m. today while the Lions' next game will be next season.

"To come out and play like we did is extremely disappointing," Earl said. "It hurts, and it's not a lot of fun."

While Earl and Booth's Lion careers have come to an end with a frustrating loss capping a frustrating season, the rest of the team has a long off-season to think about regrouping for 1999-00.

First, however, they must contemplate the reality of not being one of the 96 teams advancing to either the NIT or the NCAA Tournament.

"I'm just disappointed in the way the season went and the way it ended up here," Crispin said. "We wanted more, but unfortunately we didn't get it."