Early lead spurs IU victory

After the team’s Big Ten opener on the road where the Hoosiers struggled to break away from the Iowa Hawkeyes, the IU men’s basketball team utilized a fast first half start to defeat Penn State in University Park, Pa., Monday night 74-51 to begin conference play 2-0.

Even though the pace of play slowed the rest of the game after the Hoosiers stormed out to a 31-13 lead midway through the first half, the early hot hands of two seniors gave IU a lead the Nittany Lions simply couldn’t overcome.

Senior forward Christian Watford scored the team’s first five points, including a bucket down low during the Hoosiers’ first possession. The next time down the court, Watford hit a 3-pointer from the left wing that began a 13-0 IU run after the team fell behind early 3-2.

Watford finished the half with 13 points after scoring just 10 points during the entire game last season when the Hoosiers visited Penn State.

Senior guard Jordan Hulls broke out of the slump he fell into in Iowa City, Iowa, New Years Eve, where he failed to score a single point, shooting 0-for-10 from the field. Hulls scored 10 points in the first 20 minutes Monday, including going 2-for-3 from beyond the arc.

The Hoosiers secured an 18-point lead midway through the half, but Penn State showed a brief sign of fight, going on a 6-0 run in less than a minute to cut IU’s lead to just 12 with 7:04 left in the half, but the Hoosiers bumped it right back up to finish the half up 44-27.

But during the second half, neither team looked very sharp as the early turnovers piled up.

IU turned the ball over four times in the first 1:45 and scored only four free throws until a layup from junior guard Victor Oladipo with 13:34 left broke a Hoosier scoring drought from the floor.

IU Coach Tom Crean said he felt like his players stormed out of the gates a little quick to start the second half, but the Hoosiers’ defense kept the Nittany Lions at bay.

“We were going so fast, and we weren’t trusting some of the things,” Crean said. “It was our passing. We just had a couple of mistakes, but the thing I liked is that we weren’t letting them score either.

“These guys really did a great job of coming in and getting a road win and making defense a forefront of everything they did.”

The Nittany Lions struggled with four turnovers of their own in the first 1:28 of the second half and scored just four points during IU’s drought. As both teams struggled on offense, the Hoosiers were able to maintain a lead that hovered around 20 points through the second half.

IU’s lead would stay around there the rest of the game, as both teams recovered their touch from the floor, and the Hoosiers finished the game with their largest lead of the contest at 23 points.

Watford led the team with 16 points after he slowed down from his quick five points early in the game. Sophomore forward Cody Zeller followed with 15 points while leading the Hoosiers with four steals and two blocks.

Hulls followed his strong first half with just four more points in the final 20 minutes to score 14, shooting 4-for-6 from the field.

Crean said even though his players struggled a bit in the second half after IU’s quick first-half start, he liked the leadership he saw on the court.

“This was the best they talked all year,” Crean said. “They talked as well in the second half as they did in the first half. They could even be a little more demanding on each other.

“It’s a game of reacting, it’s a game of awareness. That’s showing a maturity that we haven’t always had.”