Feb. 27, 2008
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; February 27, 2008 - Despite seeing Iowa shoot 58 percent from the floor for the game, a monstrous offensive rebound and a pivotal three-point play from D.J. Jackson (Farrell, Pa.) with 18.3 seconds to play lifted the Nittany Lion basketball team to a thrilling 65-64 victory over the Hawkeyes at the Jordan Center on Wednesday night.
Penn State (13-14, 5-10) scored the final eight points of the game to move past Iowa (5-11) and Michigan (5-11) and into seventh place in the Big Ten standings. The Nittany Lions erased a seven-point deficit in the final 2:40 and a 12-point hole in the second half.
The victory was Penn State's third consecutive Big Ten home win, marking the first time since January 2000 the Lions have won three straight conference home games.
Fueled by Jamelle Cornley's (Columbus, Ohio) 18 second-half points, a critical three-pointer from freshman guard Talor Battle (Albany, N.Y.), Jackson's late lay-in and free throw, the Nittany Lions rallied from 12 down mid-way through the second half. Penn State scored the game's last eight points and led for just a total of 35 second in the second half to secure the critical one-point victory.
Iowa's Dan Bohall sank four free throws to extend the Hawkeyes' lead to 64-57 with 2:40 to play in the contest. However, Penn State was game to the challenge as Cornley cut the margin to 64-59 with a pair of foul shots with 2:29 to play. Following an Iowa turnover, Battle drilled a three-pointer from the top of the key off a Stanley Pringle (Virginia Beach, Va.) feed, making the score at 64-62 with just over a minute to play.
The ensuing Iowa possession went deep into the shot clock, but resulted in a jump-ball tie-up, which handed possession back to Penn State with 31 seconds to play. Following a Penn State timeout to set up a play, Danny Morrissey (Cleveland, Ohio) missed a three-pointer off the back of the rim, but Jackson skied for the clutch rebound. He elevated for a tough lay-up in traffic to tie the game at 64 with 18.3 seconds to play and was fouled on the play. Coming off a 19-point performance Sunday at Minnesota, Jackson calmly stepped to the charity stripe and completed the three-point play, which gave the Nittany Lions a 65-64 lead.
Iowa used a timeout to set up a final play. Tony Freeman drove to the basket for a left-handed attempt, which rolled off the rim. Jake Kelly's tip-in attempt also squirmed off the iron, but the loose ball rolled out of bounds with 1.3 seconds to play, giving the Hawkeyes one final chance. On the in-bounds play, Battle stripped Johnson on his three-point attempt at the buzzer to preserve the 65-64 victory.
Penn State shot 47 percent from the field (22-of-47) and 82 percent (14-of-17) from the free throw line. Cornley recorded a game-high 22 points and seven rebounds. Morrissey chipped in with 14 points, including three field goals from beyond the arc.
Kelly paced the Hawkeyes with 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Freeman added 14 points, with Justin Johnson chipping in with 12 and Cyrus Tate adding 11. Iowa made 12 of its 22 attempts (54.5 pct.) from three-point range.
Iowa shot 63 percent from the field (12-of-19) in the first half of play, and trailed 31-25 before cutting the margin to 31-30 when the two teams headed to the locker room. The Nittany Lions sank nine of their 10 free throw attempts in the slow-paced first 20 minutes to secure the one-point edge at the break. Morrissey paced Penn State with nine points in 10 minutes of action in the first half.
The game got off to a methodical start, as Battle scored four quick points in the first 1:37 of the game. A Pringle three-pointer from the left wing handed Penn State an 11-9 lead with 14:03 to play in the first half. Following Pringle's three-pointer, the two teams hit a drought from the field. The game went scoreless for 3:56 before Morrissey drilled a three-pointer on the right wing after running off a Brandon Hassell (Farmersville, Ohio) screen, handing the Lions a 14-9 edge with 10:07 on the clock in the first half.
On the next Penn State possession, Morrissey knocked down three free throws after being fouled attempting a shot beyond the arc. After Tate slipped free for a lay-up, the Nittany Lion junior came right back with another three-pointer, marking nine straight points, which handed Penn State a 20-14 lead with 8:47 to play in the first half.
Nonetheless, Iowa responded with a deep three-pointer from Jake Kelly, cutting the lead to 20-17. After a Walker jumper at the top of the key, Iowa retaliated with a pair of deep balls to grab a 23-22 lead with 6:06 remaining in the first half. Penn State came right back with five free throws, three from Walker and two from Jeff Brooks (Louisville, Ky.) to re-take the lead, 27-23.
Baskets from Brooks and Cornley stretched the Penn State scoring run to 9-2, and a 31-25 lead with 2:18 in the half, but the Hawkeyes responded with five points in the last 1:37 of the half to set the score at 31-30 after 20 minutes of play.
Iowa came out of the locker room on fire from beyond the arc, knocking down three-straight three-pointers, including a pair from Justin Johnson. The 9-0 scoring spurt gave the Hawkeyes a 39-31 just 1:21 into the second half. The streak continued with a three-point play from Kelly and another deep three-pointer from Johnson, marking 10 made shots from beyond the three-point arc for Iowa in the game. The Hawkeyes led 45-33 after starting first 3:36 of the second half on 15-2 scoring run, part of a 20-2 spurt that began late in the first half.
However, Penn State came right back with an 11-2 run covering 3:35. Cornley scored six of the 10 points during the streak, which cut the Iowa lead to 48-44 with 12:20 to play in the game. The junior from Columbus, who was virtually unstoppable in the second half, scored his 10th point of the second half with a 15-foot jumper from the left corner, which set the score at 50-46 in favor of Iowa with 11:32 remaining.
The see-saw battle continued with back-to-back field goals from Iowa, before Morrissey eyed up a three-pointer on the right wing to cut the Iowa lead to 55-49 with just under 10 minutes to play in the game. After Morrissey sank a pair of free throws at the 5:21 mark, Iowa led 60-55. Iowa was without Tate for the final 4:59 of the contest after he picked up his fifth personal foul on a Penn State fastbreak.
After Tate fouled out, the Lions went right inside, just as they did for much of the second half. Cornley weaved his way for a reverse lay-up with 4:53 to play in the game, which shaved the Iowa lead to 60-57. Penn State had two chances to knot the game at 60, but both three-point attempts sailed off the back iron, opening the door for the Hawkeyes to extend their lead.
The last five minutes of the contest saw the Lions out-score the Hawkeyes 8-4 to secure the 65-64 victory.
Penn State will next host Michigan on Saturday, March 1 at 8:00 p.m. for Senior Day. Seniors Geary Claxton, Brandon Hassell and Mike Walker will be honored prior to the contest. The game will air on the Big Ten Network, the Penn State Sports Network and GoPSUsports.com.