Ethan Happ records triple-double in Wisconsin’s 62-46 win over Northwestern

MADISON—Once again, Ethan Happ delivered in front of the Kohl Center crowd, notching his second career triple-double that helped the Wisconsin Badgers defeat the Northwestern Wildcats 62-46 on Saturday afternoon.

Happ recorded 13 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists, registering the third triple-double in school history and the second this season. He finished the game 6-of-15 shooting while also recording two blocks and two steals in nearly 33 minutes.

Wisconsin’s guards stepped up in huge fashion as well. D’Mitrik Trice and Brad Davison each scored a game-high 18 points. Trice was 7-of-11 shooting, including connecting on four of six three-point attempts, while Davison made six of 14 attempts (three of six from deep). The latter also grabbed six rebounds and two assists.

Overall, Wisconsin shot 42.9 percent (24-of-56) from the field and 47.4 percent (9-of-19) from three-point range. UW limited its turnovers against the Wildcats to just seven while dishing out 15 assists.

Wisconsin held Northwestern (12-8, 3-6 Big Ten) to just 29.6 percent shooting for the entire game, including the Wildcats making just seven of 30 attempts (23.3 percent) in the second half. NU connected on just nine of 35 two-point attempts.

No Northwestern player scored in double-figures against Wisconsin (14-6, 6-3). Dererk Pardon and Anthony Gaines each tallied eight points, while Vic Law and four other Wildcats recorded six each in the loss.

Northwestern also committed 13 turnovers to just seven assists.

After Northwestern briefly took a two-point lead with an Aaron Falzon three-pointer with 6:26 left in the first half, Wisconsin closed on a 14-2 run in the final 5:30 to take a 34-24 halftime lead. Northwestern ended the first 20 minutes making one of its last eight shots and did not score in the final 3:03.

Leading the way for Wisconsin in the first half, Trice and Davison scored 11 and 10 points, respectively. Trice connected on all four of his shots, including three from three-point range. Davison shot 4-of-7 from the field, including 2-of-5 from deep, and added three rebounds and two assists.

However, both teams shot poorly in the final 20 minutes. Wisconsin made just 10 of 28 attempts (35.7 percent), three of nine from three-point range. As mentioned earlier, Northwestern hit on less than a quarter of its field goals and made just three of nine three-pointers.

Happ scored eight of his 13 points in the first half, but he piled on the rebounds and assists in the second. In those final 20 minutes, he grabbed nine boards and was credited with six assists in the win.

With 6:54 remaining, Happ grabbed the offensive rebound that clinched his triple-double. In that same possession, he passed it to Trice, who connected on his fourth three-pointer of the contest to send the Wisconsin faithful into a frenzy.

Wisconsin’s lead never fell below double-digits in the second half, with Northwestern pulling within 10 at the 15:04 mark when Pardon connected on a layup to make it 39-29. Twice the Badgers extended their advantage to as much as 18 points in the last 2:17 of the game.

UW now holds a three-game winning streak heading into its Tuesday road contest at Nebraska. The Huskers lost to Ohio State at home 70-60 on Saturday.