Indiana Basketball: Hoosiers hold on to upset #9 Penn State
By Adam Childs
The Indiana basketball team got a huge win on Sunday when they held off the top-ten Nittany Lions 68-60.
Indiana needed a big win on Sunday and they got it when they upset ninth-ranked Penn State at Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers used a strong first half to build a 19 point lead only to give it all away early in the second half, but bounced back and came away with a huge win. The win is one the Hoosiers desperately needed in their attempt to get back into the NCAA tournament for the first time in three years.
The first half had little rhythm to it as there were a ton of fouls called and it seemed like anybody on the court had two fouls. The Hoosiers though seemed to deal with it better in building a 19 point lead with 2:20 left to go in the first half at 37-18. Indiana was fueled by three triples made by Devonte Green in the half. Trayce Jackson-Davis also asserted himself going right at Lamar Stevens and drawing two fouls on the Nittany Lions star.
Penn State, though, would fight back scoring the last six points of the first half. and the first 12 of the second half for a combined 18-0 run that pulled them within one. The scoring run would continue to 30-5 when the Nittany Lions would take a 48-42 lead with 12:17 left in the game.
Jerome Hunter would hit a huge three-pointer on the Hoosiers next possession that flipped the game once again as Indiana would respond with a 13-0 run over the next five minutes to take a seven-point lead at 55-48. It was punctuated by a huge dunk by Jackson-Davis in which he also drew a foul. He would miss a free throw but it got the crowd going and the Hoosiers used that energy to fend off the Nittany Lions the rest of the game.
The Hoosiers would hold a slim lead the rest of the game and hit their free throws to ice the game. Jackson-Davis would lead the Hoosiers with 13 points and 10 rebounds for yet another double-double. Al Durham would add 14 points and Devonte Green would pitch in 10 including his three from deep.
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Lamar Stevens was the star again for Penn State scoring 29 points, but he couldn’t get enough help from the rest of the team as they only scored 31 points combined.
It was a huge win for the Hoosiers who are trying to get themselves a more secure spot in the tournament and get off the last four in bubble that they currently seem to be on.