IU loses 66-51 in 1st round of tourney

INDIANAPOLIS – IU lacked experience. Penn State had the deeper team. The Hoosiers fell behind early and fought back, but ultimately didn’t have enough.

It was the story line of the season.

The Hoosiers (6-25) fell 66-51 to Penn State in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament, ending a season that witnessed the setting of school records for most conference and total losses in a season.

Fighting for their postseason lives, the Nittany Lions (22-10) raced out of the gate and built a quick 26-8 lead. Penn State utilized a frantic full-court press, which flustered IU and lead to several early open Penn State looks.

While the Hoosiers had to account for sophomore Talor Battle – the conference’s leading scorer and first team All-Big Ten selection – it was the other two consistent Nittany Lion scoring threats who dominated.

Jemelle Cornley notched 10 of Penn State’s first 12 points, finishing with 22, and Penn State sharpshooter Stanley Pringle added 16. IU coach Tom Crean predicted Cornley would cause problems for IU given his speed and strength, and Cornley finally was consistently able to find his shots.

IU freshman Nick Williams described guarding the bulky, 6-foot-5 forward as “awkward.”

“He’s really big, and he’s a tough player,” Williams said. “You can tell he’s been working on those moves for a long time.”

Things went so poorly for the Hoosiers that Crean picked up his only technical foul of the season early in the first half.

But the Hoosiers didn’t go down without mounting a mini-run of their own. After Penn State built its 26-8 lead, IU reeled off a 12-3 run to cut the lead to nine.

IU didn’t quit but didn’t execute, either. The Nittany Lions continued their relentless attack and put the game well out of reach early in the second half.

“We were throwing careless passes, and we weren’t taking what was there,” Williams said. “We were trying to force things, and they got some easy buckets off those turnovers and built the early lead.”

The next game the Hoosiers play, Crean will have a highly ranked incoming freshman class to complement the players who braved this season.

Junior Devan Dumes said as hard as this season has been, it will only make the team stronger next year.

“I’m excited ‘cause we’ve all grown together, and we’ve all grown to love one another,” Dumes said. “And we’re all really excited about the next time we get on the floor.”

Freshman Tom Pritchard agreed with Dumes, adding that a more seasoned roster next year should lead to more tangible results. “I know what we went through,” Pritchard said. “And I don’t want to go through it again.”

But that’s not to say anyone on the team is happy to see this season come to an end. Crean emphasized how disappointed his team was to see this campaign come to a close.

Williams commented on how strange it will be when they don’t have another game for which to prepare.

“Tomorrow is gong to be an odd day because there’s nothing to do,” Williams said. “We’re usually practicing every day. It’s going to be kind of odd to not be with these guys all the time.”