[media-credit name=’BRYAN FAUST/Herald photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]Despite playing without the services of leading scorer Alando Tucker for the second-straight game, the Wisconsin men’s basketball team (15-4, 6-2 Big Ten) got double-digit scoring contributions from five different players as it got back to its winning ways at home Wednesday, knocking off Big Ten foe Northwestern (9-11, 2-6 Big Ten) 73-58. Kammron Taylor led the way for the Badgers with 18 points on 3-for-6 shooting from behind the arc, as well as leading the team with five assists, in front of 17,142 at the Kohl Center.

“We’ve always been pretty successful when we’ve had lots of guys scoring in double figures,” senior Mike Wilkinson said. “Today it just showed how well we shared the ball. We got some looks, and guys knocked them down.”

The Badgers jumped on the Wildcats right from the opening tip-off, as they built an early 11-2 lead scoring on five of their first six possessions. Clayton Hanson got Wisconsin off and running with a quick 3 on the Badgers’ first possession. While Davor Duvancic scored an inside bucket, Wisconsin rattled off the next nine points to give the Badgers a lead they would never relinquish.

Northwestern was able to right the ship a bit after that, eventually cutting the Badgers’ lead to four after a Duvancic lay-up made it 25-21.

After finding the going tough on the inside, freshman Brian Butch stepped outside and knocked down a pair of big 3-point shots as the Badgers fended off the Wildcats’ rally midway through the half. He seemed to feed off the two treys, as he was able to get inside and score as well as pull down a team-high five boards. Butch was able to score eight of his career-high 12 points in the first half, including the 3-pointers.

“I think for any player, it gets a lot easier when that first shot goes down,” Butch said. “I’m getting better every game, my confidence is coming and I just keep on playing hard.”

Wisconsin then went on its decisive run late in the first half as it outscored Northwestern 17-5 over the final eight minutes of the half to head to the locker room with a 42-26 advantage.

Taylor padded his stats during the run, dropping in three 3-pointers as well as a baseline jumper as he led Wisconsin with 13 first-half points.

“When he knocks down shots, he’s awful hard to guard,” Northwestern head coach Bill Carmody said of Taylor. “You get up on him and he’s very fast and very strong and very hard to contain.”

The Badgers looked like they came out a little bit on cruise control in the second half, as they did not have the same offensive flow they had displayed at the end of the first half. Wisconsin hit just three field goals during the first 12 minutes of the second half, but stayed in the game by knocking down 5-8 free throws during that stretch. For the game, Wisconsin was 17-23 from the line compared to Northwestern, which shot a paltry 10-18.

However, by the 5:56 mark of the second half, Northwestern had cut the lead to seven at 58-51. It looked as though the Wildcats were ready to push the Badgers all the way to the finish. However, Northwestern’s top player, Vedran Vukusic, had already fouled out with only nine points, leaving them shorthanded as they made the final push. Vukusic, who averages 17.6 points per game, was saddled with foul trouble early and was never a major factor in the game. Without Vukusic, the Wildcats’ rally never amounted to anything substantial.

“I’m glad we came back and we did something and played hard, but we never quite threatened,” Carmody said. “If we could have hit a 3 or something and cut it to four, we could have bothered them.”

Wisconsin responded to Northwestern’s run, rattling off an 11-3 run to push the lead back to 15. Despite trading baskets with the Wildcats during the final two minutes, the Badgers’ final margin of victory remained at 15.

“We took that blow. We took that run that they made and got some good shots, you know, some wide-open ones, and got to the rim a couple times and then got to the free-throw line,” Badgers’ head coach Bo Ryan said of the way his team responded to the Wildcats’ run. “We needed that down the stretch.”

Senior Sharif Chambliss led the late charge, bracketing a Hanson jumper with a 3-pointer and a driving lay-up on his way to scoring eight of his 10 points in the second half.

“He took advantage of some opportunities and got to the rim a couple times, had that wide open 3 that went down,” Ryan said of Chambliss. “He’s a guy who understands the moment. He doesn’t get too low, doesn’t get too high. With that experience, he was able to understand the situation and make some pretty good decisions. When the ball goes in, those are some real good decisions.”

Along with Taylor, Butch and Chambliss, Wilkinson and Hanson each added 11 points, giving the Badgers five players in double digits. Zach Morley contributed a team-high five rebounds, as well as two steals.

Northwestern was led by Mohamed Hachad, who was the only Wildcat player in double digits, scoring 14 points.