Jan. 7, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; Jan. 7, 2010 - Penn State held the Michigan offense to 16 first half points and held a 16-point lead with 12:24 to play, but saw the Wolverines score 38 of the game's final 51 points to claim a 64-55 victory Thursday night at the Bryce Jordan Center.
The Nittany Lions fell to 0-3 in the Big Ten and 8-7 on the season as they committed a season-high 17 turnovers and saw Michigan (8-6; 2-1 Big Ten) capitalize scoring 21 of its 48 second half points off turnovers and 29 points off turnovers overall.
A stout Penn State defense held the Wolverines to 16 points in the first half with only two coming from Big Ten leading scorer Manny Harris. The point total was the fewest the Lions had allowed in a half since holding No. 16 Illinois to 18 points in the second half of a 38-33 victory in Champaign last February. Penn State also forced nine turnovers while holding the Wolverines to 0-for-12 shooting from behind the arc in the first half to take a 31-16 halftime lead, but things changed in the final 10 minutes of action.
After Penn State opened its largest lead of the game (16) midway through the second half, Michigan caught fire to shift the momentum in its favor. Despite missing their first 14 three-pointers, the Wolverines began their rally with three consecutive treys in the span of 1:11. Michigan shot 66.7 percent in the second half and 7-of-12 from three to rally for the victory.
Penn State hit 49 percent (22-of-45) for the game, including 43 percent (6-of-14) from three-point range. The Wolverines shot 52 percent (26-of-50) and hit seven of their last 10 three-pointers to finish at 29 percent (7-for-24) from long range.
Sophomore Chris Babb (Arlington, Texas) led the Penn State offense with 14 points, including 4-for-5 from behind the arc. Babb was the story offensively, falling just one point shy of his career-high while setting a new career-best in three-point field goal percentage (80.0). All nine of Talor Battle's (Albany, N.Y.) points came in the first half while Jeff Brooks (Louisville, Ky.) and Andrew Ott (Abington, Pa.) chipped in with eight apiece.
David Jackson (Farrell, Pa.) helped hold Harris to 13 points for the game, nearly seven below his Big Ten leading 19.8 ppg average. However, DeShawn Sims picked up the slack finishing with a game-high 25 points on 12-of-17 shooting. Laval Lucas-Perry also added 16, including four second half threes.
Down 31-16 at the half, Michigan showed life at the beginning of the second, but the Nittany Lions clawed back to open up their largest lead of the game on a Babb three with 12:24 to play.
The Wolverines then came alive from behind the arc with a trio of three-pointers in a span of 1:11. Zack Novak hit Michigan's first of the game at 8:01. Harris followed with a trey of his own and Novak's second cut Penn State's lead to seven (42-35) at the 9:12 mark.
After Jackson's put back made it 45-35, Michigan staged a 14-2 run over the next five minutes to take a 49-47 advantage, its first lead since 4-2. The Wolverines had four three-pointers in that span, two via the old fashioned variety.
Penn State retook the lead on another Babb three, but a 9-0 Wolverine run turned a 52-51 Nittany Lion advantage into a 60-52 deficit with 2:17 to play. Penn State got back within five following a Tim Frazier free throw and a Jackson lay-up, but would get no closer as Sims lay-up with 1:00 to play ended Penn State's hopes.
After Michigan opened up a 4-2 first-half lead, the Lions responded with an 8-0 run capped off by an emphatic Brooks dunk with 12:42 to play. The Wolverines scored the next four points, but the Nittany Lions staged their second 8-0 run to turn a 17-12 lead into a 25-12 advantage. Battle began with his first points of the game via a three-pointer with 7:58 remaining. Bill Edwards (Middletown, Ohio) followed with a three of his own to make it 23-12 before Battle took it all the way on a fast break for a 25-12 advantage.
A Brooks basket with 1:45 to go gave Penn State a 29-14 lead, its largest of the half. Michigan responded, but Battle's layup with less than a minute remaining equaled its largest lead heading into halftime. Penn State closed the half with 16 of the final 24 points for a 31-16 lead after 20 minutes of play.
Penn State now looks ahead to a two-game road swing, starting with a Tuesday trip to Illinois where the Lions have won their last three games. Game time is set for 9 p.m. ET and will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network. Following a Saturday trip to Iowa, the Lions return home in two weeks to face Indiana at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.
-NITTANY LIONS-