Jan. 14, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA., Jan. 14, 2009 - Riding a string of seven straight Big Ten home wins, the last three vs. ranked foes, Penn State rallied from 17 down to within one with 28 seconds to play and nearly upended No. 7 ranked Michigan State for the second straight year in the Bryce Jordan Center. Late free throws helped the Spartans prevail, 78-73, Wednesday in a thrilling game played in front of 10,000-plus roaring fans.
"Everybody was just competing making all kinds of plays and it started with Jeff Brooks when he threw it off that guys back and dunked it," Talor Battle said. "It started up the crowd. The crowd was great, even though we lost, so I just want to say thank you."
The Nittany Lions had the ball down two with 27 seconds to play when Battle tried to split a pair of Spartan defenders at the top of the key. He tripped over 6-10 Goran Suton's foot, lost the ball to Durrell Summers and was whistled for a foul on Spartan guard in the ensuing scramble sending Summers to the line and Battle to the bench with five fouls for the first time all game. Summers hit both free throws with 15 seconds to play for a 76-72 Spartan lead and Michigan State would escape with its 10th straight win to improve to 14-2, 4-0 in the Big Ten.
"We had a timeout and we had 20-some seconds," Penn State coach Ed DeChellis said. "We were going to put the ball in Talor's hands and see if he could make a play and if it didn't happen we were going to use it and set something up. He's the best point guard in the league and I want to put the ball in his hands."
Penn State, which fell to 13-5 (2-3 Big Ten), were led by a career high 26 points from senior power forward Jamelle Cornley (Columbus, Ohio) who became just the seventh Nittany Lion to post 1,300 career points and 600 career rebounds on the night. Battle posted his ninth 20-point of the game with 20 points, five rebounds and five assists. Both Cornley and Battle played 40 minutes in the game and the pair combined for 46 of the Lions 73 points.
"It's a game we had a chance to win" DeChellis said. "We think we can win every game here at home. It's important to protect your home court. Every game is important for us every game is an opportunity."
Michigan State had four players in double-figures led by 17 from Raymar Morgan and 15 from Kalin Lucas. Suton tallied 13 points and 14 boards leading a 41-24 advantage for the Spartans on the glass, including 17 offensive boards.
Penn State outscored the Spartans 44-36 and shot 48 percent from the floor in the second half to close a 42-29 Michigan State halftime lead. The Spartans built that margin to as much as 17 with 14:22 to play before Penn State mounted a furious rally fueled by a vocal and supportive crowd.
The Lions came out of the gates with five unanswered points to kick off the second half to cut the Spartan lead to eight, 42-32. Penn State would get within 10 five times in the half, each time Michigan State would rebuild the margin until the Lions late push.
Leading 44-36 with 18:22 to play, Michigan State put together an 11-2 run getting points from four different players including a lay-up from Suton that put them up 17, 55-38, with 14:22 to play. The Lions two points came on a dunk from Jeff Brooks after the Lion forward inbounded the ball off the back of a Spartan. That play breathed life into the Jordan Center crowd and the Nittany Lions built on the energy.
Penn State switched to a 2-3 zone defense that limited the Spartan offense and posted a 10-2 run of its own, including big contributions from Chris Babb and Andrew Ott off the bench. Babb's three cut the lead to 56-44 and Ott's rebound and put-back got the margin back under 10, 58-49, with 11:07 to play.
The Spartans pushed their margin back to 14 with five straight points capped by a three-point play by Delvon Roe. Penn State again took the punch and responded using an 8-2 run to get back within eight. Battle had four free throws and Cornley buried a three off a Battle assist in the run as Penn State trailed 65-57 with 6:53 to play.
Michigan State again pushed their lead over 10 as Suton and Morgan both drained jumpers for a 69-57 lead. Stanley Pringle, who struggled to score most of the night, then sparked the Lions scoring five straight points including a baseline three to get the Lions within seven, 69-62, with 4:46 to play. It was the closest the Lions had been since 5:20 to play in the first half, and this time they pushed on.
Battle grabbed a defensive rebound and pushed down the floor for a quick lay-up. He did it again a minute later, this time dishing to Cornley for an easy lay-up and suddenly Penn State was within two, 69-67, and had the momentum of a 10-0 run with 2:32 to play.
Lucas went to the line and made a pair following a Battle foul. The Nittany Lion point-guard responded by burying a 22-foot, top of the key three to bring Penn State within one, 71-70, with 1:30 to play. Lucas again went to the line and made a pair of free throws, but Battle drove the ball on the other end and drew a foul from Travis Walton. The sophomore hit both at the line to bring Penn State within one again. Pringle fouled Lucas on the ensuing inbound and the Spartan hit one of two for a 74-72. Penn State had the ball with a chance to tie or lead with 27 seconds to play setting up the final frustrating seconds.
The Spartans jumped out of the gate scoring the first eight points of the game before Battle got the Lions on the board with a jumper nearly four minutes into the game. The Lions out-scored the Spartans 13-4 and took a 13-12 lead on a Battle three with 14:19 to play in the half. Penn State built its lead to five, 19-14, after a pair of jumpers from Cornley and a tip-in from Ott. When Babb buried a 23-foot three the Lions led by six, 22-16 with 11:10 to play.
Penn State would manage just seven point the rest of the half and let the lack of scoring effect their defense as Michigan State outscored the Lions 15-4 in the final 5:30 to build as much as a 15 point lead on a Lucas three. A Cornley lay-up made it 42-29 at the half.
Penn State heads to Bloomington, Ind., for a 6:00 p.m. tip on Saturday vs. the Hoosiers on the Big Ten Network. The Lions will be looking for their first ever win in Bloomington in their 16th trip to Assembly Hall.