ROSEMONT, Ill.-Northwestern gave Penn State a taste of its own medicine on Saturday.

In the teams’ first matchup earlier this month, the Nittany Lions dominated inside to post a 78-63 win. This time, it was the Wildcats who held sway in the paint, and they rode that dominance and a decisive 11-0 run down the stretch to beat Penn State 70-61 and snap a two-game losing streak.

Vic Law scored 18 points to lead a balanced offense that put four scorers in double figures. Scottie Lindsey scored 13 points, while Dererk Pardon tallied 12 and Bryant McIntosh 10.

Penn State was led by Shep Garner, who scored 17 of his game-high 22 points in the first half. Lamar Stevens, who torched Northwestern with 30 points in the first game, scored just 13 in the encore.

Here are our three pointers on the win that raises Northwestern’s record to 12-9 overall and 3-5 in the Big Ten:

A 15-2 NU run brought it home: Penn State held a 59-55 lead with 7:24 left when Northwestern went on a tear that won the game. Pardon had two straight rim-rattling dunks, the first one to tie it at 59 and the second to take a 61-59 lead. Then, Gavin Skelly made what head coach Chris Collins called a “huge play” when he tapped a missed shot back to Law, who hit a 3-pointer. After McIntosh canned a jumper, Northwestern had a commanding 66-59 lead it wouldn’t relinquish the rest of the way. It helped that Penn State – which had been shooting close to 70 percent from the field for much of the game – missed seven straight shots and committed three turnovers during that crucial stretch as the Wildcats ratcheted up their defense. The Lions didn’t score a basket over the last 10:37 of the game as Northwestern scored 15 of the last 17 points.

The Cats owned the paint: Penn State outscored Northwestern 48-18 on points in the paint on Jan. 5 as Stevens and Michael Watkins combined for 48 points and 22 rebounds against an overmatched man-to-man defense. This time, those two combined for just 21 and 10 as the Wildcats’ 2-3 matchup zone shored up the middle and didn't allow the dunks and layups that punctuated the first game. Offensively, Northwestern attacked the rim throughout the game, the reason it held a 40-24 edge in points in the interior. The Wildcats also outrebounded Penn State 32-25 and had a whopping 16-6 advantage in offensive boards as they outscored the Lions 17-4 in second-chance points. It was a good thing NU was so effective inside because Garner was a one-man wrecking crew from deep. He hit 5 of 6 3-pointers in the first half, but cooled off to make just 1 of 5 from deep and score score six points in the second half.

The offense finally found a rhythm: Northwestern has struggled mightily offensively during the preceding stretch of four losses in five games, but the Wildcats got the ball inside against Penn State to spark its attack. With Falzon limited to three minutes because of a bad back, Collins used a smaller lineup that featured McIntosh, Lindsey, Law and freshman Anthony Gaines, who played 26 minutes and was a critical piece for the Wildcats. Northwestern was able to create shots in the paint and got its drive-and-kick game going to find shooters on the perimeter. The Wildcats shot just 43.1 percent overall and 26.3 percent from beyond the arc, less than Penn State in both categories, but they caught fire at the end of the first half, when they hit six of their last eight shots, and then again during the 11-0 run that clinched the game. Gaines, who Collins, McIntosh and Law lauded after the game, finished with six points, three rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal.