UNIVERSITY PARK, PA., JAN. 29, 2008 - In front of nearly 6,000 raucous students in a crowd of 10,956, Penn State (10-10, 2-6) had a pair of freshman lead them in an energetic effort vs. Ohio State (15-6, 6-2) before running out of steam in the second half and falling 68-56 Tuesday in the Bryce Jordan Center.
Penn State led by as much as seven points with 11:57 to go in the first half and was tied 34-34 with the Buckeyes at the half, but suffered a 10-minute scoring drought in the final 20 minutes that doomed their effort. Ohio State's shooting was too much for the Lions as the Buckeyes hit 49 percent from the field and 38 percent from the arc. After a sharp shooting start to the game, Penn State cooled off to hit 35 percent from the field and just 4-of-19 from the arc in the second half, including just five of its last 22 shots from the field.
"I thought the first half, we came out with good energy, we knew what we were trying to do and we did it well," said Penn State Coach Ed DeChellis. "I thought the crowd was great. The students were great, which really helped us."
The loss marked Penn State's sixth straight after a 2-0 start in the Big Ten and its fifth since losing standout Geary Claxton to a knee injury. The Nittany Lions fell for the 10th straight time to Ohio State in a game that included 10 lead changes and six ties.
Freshman Talor Battle (Albany, N.Y.) led Penn State with 15 points and added four rebounds and career high five assists. Fellow freshman Andrew Jones (Philadelphia, Pa.) returned to the starting line-up and posted his best career game in a Nittany Lion uniform with an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double. Both the point and rebound totals were career highs for Jones who also played a career high 28 minutes while going 4-of-5 from the floor and 3-of-3 from the line. Jones helped the Lions out rebound Ohio State, 34-30. Danny Morrissey (Cleveland, Ohio) added 12 points and 5 rebounds with 4 three-pointers.
Senior Jamar Butler led Ohio State with 20 points and 6 assists. Freshman Kosta Koufos and senior Matt Terwilleger both chipped in 10 points.
"It's really a tale of two halves," said Penn State coach Ed DeChellis. "I think, in the first half, we played with some really good energy, and had some transition baskets. I thought we played OK. In the second half we turned the ball over and couldn't make a basket. We just could not make a shot. You have just got to make open shots and we just didn't do it."
Both teams shooting well from the field and were tied at 10-10 after five minutes. Jones gave Penn State an early boost with six points. Penn State took a 13-12 lead on a Stanley Pringle three which spurred a 9-0 Penn State run. Talor Battle stretched the lead to 19-12 after his three with 11:56 left. Ohio State's David Lighty ended the run with a three from the corner.
Dallas Lauderdale's dunk started an 8-0 run for the Buckeyes who took a 23-21 lead on a pair of free throws from Butler. Mike Walker ended the Buckeyes run with a fast break three with seven minutes left in the first half, part of 15 fast break points in the first half for Penn State. A pair of Danny Morrissey threes gave Penn State the lead, 34-32, after with 1:20 remaining in the half, but Penn State squandered a chance to increase the lead late and turned the ball over. Ohio State capitalized getting the ball to Terwilliger for a lay-up to tie the game and end the half.
Penn State shot 43 percent (13-30) in the half while Ohio State hit 48 percent (13-27) from the field. Battle lead Penn State with 10 first half points shooting 4 of 6 from the field.
Penn State used threes from Battle and Morrissey and jumper from Jamelle Cornley to hold as much as a four-point lead, 44-40, with 14:20 to play in the second half, but then went ice cold. The Nittany Lions missed their next 11 shots and committed four turnovers during a 10-minute scoring drought that allowed the Buckeyes to take control. Ohio State posted a 16-0 run getting eight points and a pair of threes from Butler to take a 56-44 lead with 5:29 to play.
Pringle eventually snapped the scoring drought with a three with 4:04 to play. Terwilliger answered immediately with a three at the other end and Ohio State held the Nittany Lions at bay the rest of the way. Penn State got the lead down to seven following a Battle lay-up and a Cornley free throw, but a dunk from Evan Turner slammed the door with 18 seconds to play.
Penn State will return to action in the Bryce Jordan Center Saturday when they take on No. 7 Michigan State at 8:00 p.m. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.