Penn State Surges Late, Edges Indiana at Assembly Hall

Story posted February 13, 2014 in CommRadio, Sports by Anna Pitingolo

For the fourth time in the last six games, Penn State (13-12, 4-8 Big Ten) truly embodied what it means to be “relentless” and walked away victorious, defeating Indiana (14-10, 4-7 Big Ten) 66-65, in the final minutes in Bloomington.

Indiana was hot from the start and made 7 of 8 shots from the field in the first seven minutes, before Penn State was able to get some momentum. Throughout the half, the Nittany Lions were able to keep it close, never trailing by more than seven, which happened twice. The second time, Penn State was able to close the gap thanks to back-to-back three-pointers by freshman guard Graham Woodward and junior guard John Johnson. After that, Indiana went on a 7-2 run to close out the half, where they led 36-30.

Indiana was able to increase its lead to 11 early in the second half, but Woodward’s third three of the night cut the lead back to single digits. After some back and forth scoring, the Nittany Lions were able to go on a 10-2 run to bring the game back to within five with just over six minutes left in the game. However, the Hoosiers had no problem pulling away again, leading by 10 with less than five minutes left thanks to four points from sophomore guard Yogi Ferrell.

Once again, Penn State was able to go on a long run, this one 10-1, to bring the score to within two with 1:07 left to play. The Nittany Lions were able to force three turnovers in the final 30 seconds, two off of inbound passes that provided them with a chance to score, and either tie the game or take the lead.

It didn’t look good when the Nittany Lions were only able to convert the first stolen inbound into one point, when junior forward Ross Travis went one and one at the foul line. But junior guard D.J. Newbill was able to get a steal on a second Indiana inbound and call a quick timeout. When play resumed, senior guard Tim Frazier made a driving layup with 6.1 seconds left, giving Penn State its first lead of the night. Ferrell missed the ensuing jumper, and Penn State was able to complete the comeback after an 11-point deficit in the final two minutes.

Penn State looks to get another Big Ten win streak going when they face the #16 Iowa Hawkeyes at home on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Anna Pitingolo is a freshman majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, email apiting@psu.edu.

Photo Courtesy: (AP Photo/Doug McSchooler)