National Basketball Association
Penn St. 68, Indiana 63
When: 8:00 PM ET, Saturday, February 6, 2016
Where: Bryce Jordan Center, University Park, Pennsylvania
Officials:
# Chris Beaver, # Bill Ek, # Steve McJunkins
Attendance:
10351
By The Sports Xchange
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Slow starts had been a killer for Penn State for much of the season, particularly during a recent four-game losing streak.
The Nittany Lions scored 11 of the game's first 16 points during Saturday's 68-63 win over Indiana, then finished the game on a 23-15 spurt as well.
Penn State senior forward Brandon Taylor led all scorers with 24 points and sophomore guard Shep Garner had 10 of his 12 points in the second half to help give their team its first victory over a top 25 team since a 65-63 win over No. 22 Ohio State on Feb. 27, 2014.
"It's big for our program. It"s important on so many levels," Penn State coach Patrick Chambers said. They believed that they were good enough, tough enough and prepared enough to win this game."
A conventional three-point play by sophomore forward Julian Moore gave Penn State a 64-61 with 1:13 remaining. Indiana freshman center Thomas Bryant was whistled for traveling with 23.9 seconds left and Garner connected on two free throws after Penn State inbounded and made 1 of 2 to seal the victory 14 seconds later, giving Penn State its first win since Jan. 16.
"Not giving up is a lot of reason why we came out this game with a W," Taylor said. "We knew that there was going to be a game where we were gonna defend and play Penn State basketball for 40 minutes."
The Hoosiers (19-5, 9-2 Big Ten), the conference's highest-scoring team entering the game, made only one field goal over the final five minutes and were 7 of 23 from the field in the second half.
Senior guard Devin Foster added 13 points for Penn State (12-12, 3-8 Big Ten). Senior guard Nick Zeisloft led Indiana with 14 points while senior guard Yogi Ferrell scored 13 and Bryant had 10.
Taylor had eight points, including a pair of 3-pointers during a 10-2 run that gave Penn State a 55-50 lead with 6:24 to play. He had 13 points in the first half and finished 10-of-20 from the field and 4-of-9 from 3-point range.
"We did not answer the bell on Brandon Taylor the way we needed to," Indiana coach Tom Crean said. "You've got to do your work early on a player like that. When he catches it, it's very hard to guard him."
A flurry of fouls early in the half helped Indiana get into the bonus with more than 12 minutes remaining, but the Hoosiers shot just 14 free throws in the half.
Indiana led 34-33 at halftime after going 6-of-12 from behind the arc, with Zeisloft connecting on three of his four tries. Ferrell and junior forward Troy Williams had seven points apiece at the break for Indiana, which committed 11 turnovers in the half. Indiana finished with 15 turnovers compared to just seven for Penn State.
"The turnovers to start the game hurt us," Crean said. "And we made some turnovers that we just can't make. I thought at times we tried to make some plays that weren't there."
Three-pointers from Taylor and Foster, a layup by Garner and Moore's three-point play helped stake the Nittany Lions to an early 11-5 lead, but the Hoosiers battled back, tying the score at 16-16 on a jumper by Williams with 11:16 left in the period.
A 3-pointer by Zeisloft gave Indiana a 31-30 lead with 3:22 left in the half.
NOTES: Penn State freshman G Josh Reaves made his first appearance in a game since Jan. 10. He had been sidelined for the previous six games with mononucleosis. He finished with two rebounds and two fouls in 10 minutes of action. ... Each of the last three meetings was decided by three points or fewer. ... Taylor has led his team in scoring in each of the last six games and had a game-high 24 points Saturday.
Top Game Performances
| Indiana |
|
Penn St. |
|
Nick Zeisloft 14 |
Scoring |
Brandon Taylor 24 |
|
Yogi Ferrell 5 |
Assists |
Shep Garner 4 |
|
Thomas Bryant 8 |
Rebounds |
Shep Garner 6 |
|
Yogi Ferrell 6 |
Free Throws Made |
Shep Garner 4 |
|
Robert Johnson 2 |
Steals |
Payton Banks 2 |
|
OG Anunoby 1 |
Blocks |
Jordan Dickerson 1 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Indiana
|
63 |
36.2 |
9-27 |
20-26 |
12 |
34 |
2 |
5 |
15 |
| Penn St.
|
68 |
41.7 |
8-24 |
10-16 |
11 |
28 |
2 |
8 |
7 |
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