Hoosiers drop late lead to Penn State, lose in heartbreaker

Freshman guard Nick Williams’ dejected look after the final buzzer on the floor of the Bryce Jordan Center told the story.

Though many of the problems that have plagued IU this season were not a factor – the Hoosiers were more careful with the ball and consistent from the free-throw line – and though seldom-used center Tijan Jobe scored, the Hoosiers (6-22, 1-15) didn’t have enough to pull off a win.

Penn State guard Talor Battle’s 16 points led the attack as the Nittany Lions (20-9, 9-7) came away with a 61-58 victory on their Senior Night. The Hoosiers had a lead late in the game, but Battle found Penn State senior forward Jamelle Cornley for a thunderous dunk that put the Nittany Lions ahead for good.

IU had the ball with a chance to tie as time expired, but freshman guard Matt Roth’s potential game-tying shot was tightly contested and hit short off the rim.

“We wanted to get a quick two,” IU coach Tom Crean said. “But that wasn’t available, and then we had to go for the 3-pointer. They did a good job of switching.”

Penn State and IU traded back-and-forth leads the entire game. Every time a team appeared to be pulling away, the other countered with a crucial basket.

Helping IU throughout the game was its ability to hold on to the ball. The Hoosiers tied a season-low 11 turnovers, in contrast to typical road games.

Conversely, the Nittany Lions were unable to pull away due to an all-too-familiar sight for IU fans: Penn State only hit 41.2 percent of its free throws.

But for the third game in a row, IU allowed its opponent to shoot 50 percent or better from the floor, and whenever the Nittany Lions needed a big basket, they got one.
Junior guard Devan Dumes and freshman guard Verdell Jones led IU with 16 points apiece.

“We have great kids, and I was proud of them,” Crean said. “I thought (Dumes) was really locked in defensively – he had a tough assignment – and I think that helped him on the offensive end.”

The Hoosiers won’t have much time to recover from the loss. IU will take on conference-leader Michigan State on forward Kyle Taber’s Senior Night on Tuesday.
When the Hoosiers faced Michigan State in East Lansing, Mich., the Spartans demolished IU, 75-47.