The Northwestern Wildcats (16-11, 6-9) lead the Penn St. Nittany Lions (12-16, 4-11) by the score of 34-28 through the first half of their Saturday night matchup.

F John Shurna, who leads the Big Ten in scoring, has landed 7 points to go with his 2 steals, 3 assists and 4 astounding 4 blocks. Freshman G Dave Sobolewski (9 pts, 1 reb) and junior G/F Drew Crawford (7 pts, 6 reb) have also proved invaluable through the first half, helping the Wildcats overcome the dominant Nittany Lions rebound game.

With G Cammeron Woodyard and G Matt Glover leading the Penn State defense with 5 rebounds each, the Nittany Lions have out-rebounded the Northwestern basketball team 19-10, which helped them build a 13-20 lead through the first ten minutes.

The Wildcats took the lead back thanks to 13-point run featuring plenty of Shurna and Sobolewski. With a six point lead, Northwestern looks to pull away from their Big Ten rival in the second half and push themselves closer to the ranked half of the conference standings.

For more score updates and breaking news on the Northwestern Wildcats, stay tuned to SB Nation Chicago. For more in-depth coverage and analysis on this matchup, check out the Northwestern blog Sippin' On Purple or the Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries.