By Ben LarrisonThe Daily Northwestern

Tim Doyle has often said that if he is the Wildcats’ top scorer, they’re going to lose. But if not for a disputed foul call that limited him to just eight second-half minutes, Doyle could well have led Northwestern in points while leading the team to victory.

The fifth-year senior finished with 15 points and was NU’s second-leading scorer despite missing much of the second half with foul trouble as the Cats defeated Penn State 53-51 Saturday at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

“In the second half, I think you see how important Doyle is to us,” NU coach Bill Carmody said. “Because we were doing pretty well, and then when he went down there’s all that hesitancy out there. He makes the other guys feel like they belong out there, and when things get tough, you can give him the ball and something’s going to happen.”

Doyle was a major contributor for NU as it jumped out to an early advantage. He led the Cats’ fast break attack, helping them build a 10-point lead by halftime. NU would outscore Penn State 12-2 on the break for the game.

But after picking up a controversial fourth foul early in the second half, Doyle was relegated to the bench, where he watched the Nittany Lions turn what was once a 14-point lead into a one-possession game.

“I was just picking apart their zone at will, and once I came out of the game I think guys got very tentative and they were looking for me to be out there,” Doyle said. “It was extremely tough sitting there.”

With Doyle out of the game, the NU offense went into a major slump. Over a 13-minute stretch, the Cats made just two field goals, and Penn State cut their lead to just one point with a 19-6 run. Teammate Kevin Coble, who led NU with 16 points, said the team was struggling to find ways to score without its “playmaker.”

When he finally returned, Doyle again made an impact, guarding Geary Claxton as he took the Nittany Lions’ last shot and grabbing the game-sealing rebound after forcing the miss.

“Offensively, we just go into a freeze when I’m not out there, and I see it in practice,” Doyle said. “So I’ve just got be smarter than that, and it gives me a lot of responsibility, being the oldest guy on the team. So it’s completely my fault, and if we would have lost this game I’d have been on suicide watch.”

Reach Ben Larrison at [email protected].