Quick thoughts about an 87-85 win over Penn State in overtime:
How did this happen: Indiana got off to a strong start on Wednesday night against a Penn State team that is known for placing defensive bets and paying for a ton of 3-point points. The Hoosiers led 12-7 at the start of game 4 out of 6 pitches. Penn State kept missing and Indiana took the opportunity to hit the first seven free throws. After a swing in the first half that saw Myreon Jones go for 14 points, it looked like Indiana could extend its cushion to double digits after a five-point possession and a 29-20 lead at the 4:30 mark. But Penn State responded with five straight points of its own. A pair of Race Thompson’s lost free throws to end the half sent the Hoosiers into the locker room with just 38-33.
The Nittany Lions blew off the locker room offensively with 20 points in the first 7:17 of the time. While the Hoosiers were not stopping, they were keeping pace offensively. Indiana hit 10 of her first 13 shots to start the second half and opened a nine-point lead in 63-54 on a 3-point Rob Phinisee. The advantage grew to 12 in an Al Durham Jr. 3 points with 9:56 to play, which ended a series of 13-1. But Indiana’s defense never really put the staples in Penn State and the Nittany Lions took the lead under double digits in a jumper Jamari Wheeler with 8:24 to play. Penn State would stay within four on two different occasions before Indiana made three consecutive shots to increase the lead to nine in 75-66 with 4:45 to play. Penn State, however, was not done. The Lions of Nittany ran an 8-0 run to tie it up with 2:49 to play. While Indiana’s goal drought continued for more than 3:30, Penn State took his first advantage on a Sam Sessoms jumper with 28 seconds to play. Indiana drew in 80 when Trayce Jackson-Davis split a pair of free throws with seven seconds left and Phinisee blocked a shot by Sessoms on the buzzer to force overtime.
Indiana had a score drought of over 3:30 in overtime before a 3-point Jackson-Davis play gave IU an 85-83 lead with 1:03 to play. Penn State responded with a pair of free throws from Jones with 43.7 seconds to play in overtime. After a timeout, Phinisee hit a difficult jumper on the track with 14.3 seconds to give IU a 2 point advantage. Sessoms lost the ball on a drive with just under four seconds to play and Brockington missed a kick from the baseline while IU survived his first Big Ten victory.
Featured Performer: Jackson-Davis led five double-digit Hoosiers with 21 points in 37 minutes. He had 8 of 13 pitches and added six rebounds.
Stunning statistics: Indiana prevailed despite giving 1.14 points for possession of the ball, the worst of the season, to the Lions of Nittany.
Final individual UI statistics:
Final statistics without pace:
Filed for: Penn State Nittany Lions