STATE COLLEGE — In a game that saw 14 lead changes and 11 tie scores, the Penn State men’s basketball team stepped up in the final minutes to earn a gutsy 84-80 win over Northwestern Thursday night inside the Bryce Jordan Center.

The Penn State defense held Northwestern to just five points in the final five minutes and the Nittany Lions made clutch baskets down the stretch to improve to 12-2 on the season, 2-1 in Big Ten play and a perfect 9-0 inside the Bryce Jordan Center. The Nittany Lions made 36 free throws, a Penn State record in a Big Ten game.

Zach Hicks led four Nittany Lions in double figures with 20 points, marking his third 20-plus point effort of the season. Ace Baldwin Jr. notched both his 1,500th career point and 300th career steal in the game and finished with 17 points, seven assists and five steals. Puff Johnson tallied 11 points, while Freddie Dilione V added 10.

Baldwin Jr. now owns career marks of 1,507 points, 737 assists and 303 steals, making him just the ninth Division I player since the 1947-48 season (77 years) to accumulate career marks of 1,500-plus points, 700-plus assists and 300-plus steals.

The Nittany Lions got out to an 8-0 lead just over four minutes into the game as Penn State’s pressure rattled the Wildcats early and PSU scored five points off two Northwestern turnovers to take the quick advantage.

The Penn State defense forced five Northwestern turnovers and held the Wildcats to a 1-for-6 clip from the field in the game’s first six and a half minutes as the Nittany Lions controlled a 10-2 edge.

The Wildcats put together a 15-4 run from 12:12 to 8:20 to surge ahead 21-16.

Penn State 84, Northwestern 80

NORTHWESTERN (10-4, 1-2 BIG TEN)

Nick Martinelli 5-13 8-10 18; Matthew Nicholson 2-4 2-3 6; Jalen Leach 2-5 4-4 8; Ty Berry 1-6 0-0 3; Brooks Barnhizer 8-16 3-3 20; Justin Mullins 3-5 1-1 7; K.J. Windham 3-5 0-0 8; Luke Hunger 1-2 0-0 2; Angelo Ciaravino 3-5 0-0 8. Totals 28-61 18-21 80.

PENN STATE (12-2, 2-1 BIG TEN)

Yanic Konan Niederhauser 3-7 3-5 9; Zach Hicks 5-8 7-9 20; Ace Baldwin Jr. 1-7 15-16 17; Freddie Dilone V 5-9 0-0 10; Puff Johnson 2-3 7-8 11; D’Marco Dunn 3-6 1-1 8; Nick Kern 3-4 3-4 9; Miles Goodman 0-0 0-2 0; Jahvin Carter 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-44 36-45 84.

Halftime: PSU 37-34. 3-point goals: Northwestern 6-22 (Ciaravino 2-4, Windham 2-4, Barnhizer 1-2, Berry 1-6, Mullins 0-1, Leach 0-2, Martinelli 0-3), PSU 4-15 (Hicks 3-6, Dunn 1-2, Johnson -1, Dilione 0-2, Baldwin Jr. 0-4). Fouled out: Northwestern-none; PSU-none. Rebounds: Northwestern 33 (Barnhizer 11), PSU 28 (NIederhauser 9). Assists: Northwestern 19 (Barnhizer 8), PSU 13 (Baldwin Jr. 7). Technical fouls: Northwestern-none; PSU-Dilione. Total fouls: Northwestern 30, PSU 17. A: 5,579.