Penn State Basketball: Nittany Lions Lose Battle with Indiana, 88-82

Like two boxers trading punches, Penn State and the 12th-ranked Indiana Hoosiers exchanged blows in front of a raucous crowd at the Bryce Jordan Center Sunday afternoon. Indiana was able to hold off a furious Nittany Lion rally in the closing minutes, defeating Penn State 88-82.

The Hoosiers were led by Jordan Hulls, who made seven three-point attempts en route to a 16-of-24 shooting from behind the arc by Indiana. Matt Roth also contributed five baskets from three, showing the Jordan Center crowd why Indiana is ranked the best three-point-shooting team in the nation.

Indiana pulled ahead by as many as 11 points in the first half, only to have the Nittany Lions surge back, cutting the Hoosier lead to five at halftime at 42-37. It was a theme that continued in the second half as Indiana was able to pull the lead back into double figures multiple times before Penn State would rally to cut the lead to only two possessions.

Penn State couldn’t complete its final comeback after being down eight with only 1:22 remaining in the game. The Nittany Lions were able to bring the game within two points several times in the game’s closing seconds, but a perfect eight-for-eight free-throw shooting performance by Indiana’s Hulls and Roth in the final few minutes proved to be too much for Penn State to overcome.

Penn State was led by Jermaine Marshall’s 20 points, and Tim Frazier’s 21 points and seven assists. While the Nittany Lions struggled to find their shot from beyond the arc, Billy Oliver went three of five from the three and was part of a group of four players within a basket of double figures. A growing trend of consistent play was evident throughout the entire roster.

Penn State falls to (9-8, 1-3) but has played very strong basketball over their past two games, giving Nittany Lion fans plenty of reason to hope for a bright future. The Nittany Lions are back in action this Wednesday when they take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers on the road. Penn State will then return to State College to take on Minnesota on Sunday afternoon at 4.

Related coverage

• StateCollege.com’s Penn State basketball page