| Freshman Jamelle Cornley led Penn State with 14 points and eight rebounds against Ohio State Saturday. |
Box Score
Post-Game Quotes
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa., Jan. 21, 2006 - Penn State showed it has come a long way since its first meeting with Ohio State on Jan. 5, but fell victim to a poor shooting first half and a stretch of turnovers at the beginning of the second half as the No. 19 ranked Buckeyes claimed a 75-64 victory. The Nittany Lions (10-6; 2-3 Big Ten) heated up to shoot 62 percent in the second half, but Ohio State (14-2; 4-2 Big Ten), the first of three-straight ranked opponents on the Penn State schedule, exploited holes in the Lions' zone defense to shoot 65 percent in the half to post their sixth-consecutive win in the series.
Penn State freshman Jamelle Cornley, a Columbus, Ohio native, led Penn State in scoring for the fifth time on the season posting 14 points and a team-high eight rebounds. The Big Ten's leading freshman scorer has scored in double digits in every Big Ten game and in 14 games on the season. Sophomore Geary Claxton and senior Travis Parker both added 13 points and junior guard David Jackson posted 12 points. Sophomore guard Jamar Butler led the Buckeyes with 15 points on the night and senior Matt Sylvester kept Penn State at bay in the second half with several big shots as he scored 12.
"We didn't turn over the ball as much in the first half and, on our turnovers, Ohio State didn't get many points off of them," Penn State Coach Ed DeChellis said of the difference in Saturday's game and a 104-69 loss in Columbus earlier in the year. "Also, if we make free throws, it's pretty much locked up at half time. We didn't shoot the ball well throughout the game. We are much improved. We didn't make as many plays as we should, but you know they're good."
Both teams came out cold in the first half as Penn State hit one-of-nine and Ohio State two-of-six as the Buckeyes held a 5-2 lead at the first media timeout. Claxton got a pair of offensive put-backs, part of 11 offensive boards and 14 second chance points for Penn State in the first half, to get Penn State going offensively and a three-pointer from Jackson, who played his most aggressive offensive game in several weeks, gave Penn State a 9-8 lead at the 14:02 mark. Penn State struggled with Ohio State's size around the basket as the Lions missed several close opportunities in traffic and shot a season-low 28.9 percent for the half.
However, energized by an enthusiastic crowd, Penn State hung tough with the Buckeyes and tied the game at 18-18 when Mike Walker drained a three-pointer at the 7:33 mark forcing an Ohio State timeout. Ohio State, which shot just 33 percent for the half, got a big three out of the timeout from senior Je'Kel Foster, who finished with 13 points on the night. They extended the lead to six on a pair of free throws from Matt Terwilliger, but Penn State battled back and took the lead at 26-25 as Claxton tipped in a miss from Milos Bogetic with 3:00 to play.
Again, Ohio State answered with a three, this time from Butler, and extended the lead to a 32-27 margin at the half as Penn State missed its last four shots from the field.
Ohio State quickly extended the lead to 11 two minutes into the second half as Penn State turned the ball over on its first three possessions leading to a pair of lay-ups and two free throws for the Buckeyes. The lead hovered around 10 for the remainder of the game as both teams shot well and traded baskets. Penn State got the lead under 10 on numerous occasions, but Ohio State always answered including several times from Sylvester who scored all 12 of his points in the second half.
"It takes a lot of energy to fight back and continue to keep stopping them and then score," Jackson said of Penn State's difficulty cutting into the Buckeye lead. "We're growing and Ohio State is one of the best teams in the Big Ten."
Another Walker three cut the lead back to eight at 64-56 with 4:25 to play and Claxton nearly got a steal on the other end, but Sylvester ended up with the ball out of a scramble and drained a jump shot.
"They're a good team," DeChellis said. "To me, there was four minutes to go in the game and Geary almost gets a steal, but can't quite pick it up and (Matt) Sylvester gets the loose ball and then makes a basket. You know, we had it but we didn't have enough to overcome them."
Penn State again cut the lead to as low as seven with one minute to play as Claxton and Cornley scored in the paint, but Ohio State made nine straight free throws scoring their final nine points from the charity stripe down the stretch to keep the Lions at bay. Ohio State made 23-of-28 from the line on the night and out-rebounded Penn State 38-28, posting a 14-5 advantage on the boards in the second half.
Penn State continues a string of three-straight games against ranked opponents as they head to No. 15 Wisconsin for an 8:00 p.m. (ET) tip-off Wednesday. That game will be broadcast by ESPN-Plus and can be seen live locally on WPSU-TV (Chan. 3). It can be also be heard live on the Penn State Sports Network and will also be streamed live to www.GoPSUsports.com. Steve Jones and Dick Jerardi will call the action.