Beran, Audige lead Northwestern past stubborn Prairie View

EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) Robbie Beran had 20 points and 12 rebounds, Chase Audige made several key plays, and Northwestern Wildcats rallied to defeat Prairie View A&M Panthers 61-51 on Sunday.

Audige hit a 3-pointer and later a pair of free throws to give the Wildcats a 51-47 lead with 6:17 remaining. It was Northwestern's first lead since the 14-minute mark of the second half. At 3:48 Audige made a layup for a 56-49 lead and the Wildcats continued to extend their lead from there.

Northwestern's defense, 12th nationally with 54.5 points allowed per game and sixth at 35.4% field goal percentage allowed, held the Panthers scoreless over the final 3:26 and allowed just four points over the final 10 minutes. Prairie View finished at 29% shooting for the game and Northwestern hit on 29.5%.

Audige finished with 11 points, six rebounds, three assists, three steals and four blocks. Beran had four 3-pointers and three blocks. Boo Buie had 12 points and seven assists for the Wildcats (7-2).

Jeremiah Gambrell scored 16 points for Prairie View (4-5) but shot 6-for-22 overall and missed 11 3-pointers. Hegel Augustin had 10 points and 12 rebounds off the bench.

Northwestern finished the first half at 18.8% shooting overall and 4-of-18 on 3-pointers. The Wildcats made only two 2-point field goals in the first half and trailed 29-24 at the break.

Northwestern's struggles in the first half were evidenced by 5-for-25 shooting over the first 16 minutes. At the 4-minute timeout Beran, who had 13 points and five rebounds at that point, was the only Wildcat who had scored more than two points.

The Wildcats improved to 14-1 all-time against SWAC schools, with a 14-0 record at home.

Northwestern plays the second game of a six-game homestand on Saturday against DePaul.

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