Wisconsin Badgers beat Northwestern, Tonje leads with 27 points

EVANSTON, Ill. - John Tonje had 27 points and 17th-ranked Wisconsin held off Northwestern for a 75-69 win on Saturday.

By the numbers:

Down 52-50, the Badgers (17-5, 7-4 Big Ten) went on a 14-3 run just after the halfway point of the second half to take the lead for good. Reserve Carter Gilmore scored seven points during the decisive run and finished with 15 and seven rebounds. The Wildcats were just 1 for 6 from the floor during the spurt.

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The Badgers had lost two of three after a seven-game winning streak.

Jalen Leach had 23 points and seven assists for Northwestern (12-10, 3-8), which scratched second-leading scorer Brooks Barnhizer hours before the game with a foot injury.

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Nick Martinelli added 15 points and Ty Berry had 14 for the Wildcats, who have lost three straight and seven of nine.

The Badgers started the day with the nation’s best free-throw percentage and went 14 for 16 from the stripe — including 11 for 12 in the final 10 minutes — in the second half to keep the Wildcats at bay.

Martinelli, the Wildcats’ leading scorer, found shots hard to come by in the first 25 minutes but Leach and Berry helped keep them in the game by making five and four 3-pointers, respectively.

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Gilmore's alert lay-in of a Tonje miss with 9:24 to play gave the Badgers their first lead and forced a Northwestern timeout. The shorthanded Wildcats stayed close but never threatened the rest of the way.

Wisconsin had just one second-half turnover after giving up the ball nine times in the opening 20 minutes.

What's next:

Wisconsin hosts Indiana on Tuesday night. Northwestern hosts Southern California on Tuesday night.