Feb. 14, 2009
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UNIVERSITY PARK, PA., Feb. 14, 2009 - Talor Battle made a dramatic return to the form that has him leading the Big Ten conference in scoring posting 21 points, 16 in the second half, and making huge plays down the stretch to help Penn State defeat Minnesota, 68-63, Saturday before 12,148 in the Bryce Jordan Center.
Battle's Big Ten leading 12th 20-point game of the season helped Penn State improve to 18-8 on the year and 7-6 in the Big Ten as the Lions snapped a three-game losing skid and moved into a tie for fifth place.
"(Talor) made some great plays tonight," Penn State coach Ed DeChellis said. "In the second half especially, he made some game-winning basketball plays - the steal, big finish and foul. I can't say enough positive things about him."
Stanley Pringle added 13 points on 3-of-5 from three and Drew Jones posted nine rebounds for the second straight game.
The performance helped Penn State overcome a Big Ten opponent record 7-of-8 shooting from three from Minnesota's Devoe Joseph who had a career-high 23 points on the night and all seven of his threes in the second half. Minnesota fell to 19-6, 7-6 in the Big Ten.
The Nittany Lions improved to 13-3 at home, equaling their most wins in a season at the Jordan Center, and won their 10th Big Ten home game in the last 12. Penn State got 26 points off 19 Minnesota turnovers and shot 21-of-28 at the foul line.
"I thought it was very, very important for our psyche and our confidence," DeChellis said of the win. "It's just nice to see them leave the locker room with smiles on their faces. To be honest with you, it's about making a couple shots. We ran the same stuff, we did the same things and they came off and made some shots there. Talor made some big shots."
The Lion freshmen duo of Chris Babb and Cammeron Woodyard combined for 15 points - their most since they posted 17 against Lafayette - with eight and seven points, respectively.
"They both did some great things tonight," DeChellis said of his freshmen. "Cammeron's shots kind of rolled in for us, it wasn't like they were knockdown, but I think they built some confidence in him. Chris made a couple shots. So we're going to try to continue to get those guys some more time."
Penn State shot 42.9 percent (18-42) from the field (50 percent in the second half) and 47.8 percent (11-23) from three. Minnesota shot 40.8 percent (20-49) from the floor and 52.6 percent (10-19) from the arc.
The Nittany Lions held as much as a nine-point lead with 10:02 to play before an 11-0 Minnesota run fueled by three treys, two from Joseph, put the Gophers up 50-48.
With the Gophers up three, Battle ran down the clock in the backcourt and then hit a 25-foot three over a defender to tie the game, 53-53, with 5:45 remaining. Joseph quickly responded with a three of his own for Minnesota to bring the Lions deficit to three again, 56-53, at the 5:16 mark.
After a Minnesota timeout, Battle hit a deep three from the right wing to tie it up at 56 with 2:40 to play and spark a 9-0 run as the Jordan Center crowd rose to its feet. After another defensive stop, David Jackson was fouled on a lay-up attempt and converted on both free throws to give Penn State back the lead, 58-56 with 1:43 remaining.
Battle swiped the ball from Joseph on the Gophers next possession and went coast-to-coast for an and-one as the fans roared. Battle missed the free throw, but the rebound was brought in by Jones who tossed it back out to run time. Battle was fouled and then hit two free throws to extend the lead 62-56.
Following a defensive stand, Cornley retrieved the rebound and went to the line. He hit one-of-two to give the Lions a 63-56 lead. Damian Johnson was fouled on the other end and hit 1-of-2. Jackson grabbed the board, was fouled, and then calmly hit two free throws for a 65-57 lead with 24 seconds to play.
The Gophers hit a couple three's in the remaining seconds, but Penn State was able to hold on as Pringle hit a pair of free throws to close out the game, 68-63.
Both teams struggled offensively in the first half making uncharacteristic turnovers (11 each) on several traveling violations and shooting poorly (Penn State 36 percent and Minnesota 28). Woodyard led Penn State with seven points in the half, but the biggest play of the half came in the final seconds as Chris Babb stole a long Minnesota pass and kicked it ahead to Battle for a buzzer beating three that gave the Lions a 24-23 lead at the break.
Battle was 0-of-5 from the floor prior to that shot, but seemed to get his swagger back in that moment as he went on to score 16 second half points on 5-of-8 shooting.
Battle's two early free throws ended his personal scoring drought and were the only points of the game through the first five minutes as both teams struggled shooting. A Minnesota tip-in by Paul Carter got the Gophers on the board at the 15:35 mark.
Both teams traded threes as Jeff Brooks hit from the wing and an Al Nolen three on the other end once again tied the game, 9-9, at the 9:42 mark.
A pair of jumper's from Cornley and Woodyard started a 5-0 run and gave Penn State a 16-15 lead at the 5:44 mark in the half. The Gopher's quickly regained the lead, 17-16, on two Nolen free throws.
Babb hit a deep three from the wing as the Lion's regained the lead, 21-19, with four minutes remaining. Minnesota answered with a 4-0 run including an easy lay-up inside from Ralph Sampson extending the Gopher's lead to two, 23-21 with 2:19 left before Battle hit his three at the buzzer.
Battle scored six straight to fuel an 8-0 Penn State run to start the second half. A Battle three at the top of the key and then three-point play off a tough lay-up gave the Lions a 32-25 lead with 16:48 to go.
Minnesota answered with a three from Carter but Pringle found an opening and hit a three to extend Penn State's lead back to seven, 35-28. Pringle would score 11 straight points over the next four minutes hitting three straight from the arc and a pair at the line as he answered each Minnesota attempt to cut the lead. The only thing that slowed him down was his fourth foul with 10:46 to play.
Pringle went to the bench and Minnesota scored five straight to cut the lead to four, 43-39.
A Babb three started a 5-0 line run capped by a pair of free throws from Jones and Penn State led 49-39 with 10:02 to play.
Consecutive threes from Nolen and Joseph cut Penn State's lead to three, 48-45 with 9:07 to go. Joseph then tied it up at 48 with another three that capped nine unanswered points for Minnesota.
A Colton Iverson lay-up gave Minnesota a 50-48 lead at the 7:47 mark and it was gut check time for Penn State. The Nittany Lions responded behind their tenacious point-guard and now face a pair of road game next week at Illinois and Ohio State.
The road swing begins Wednesday when Penn State takes on the Illini at 7:00 p.m. in Champaign. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network. Penn State has won in its last two trips to Champaign, including a 68-64 victory there last year.