March 11, 2010
Notes | Box Score in PDF Format 
Minnesota Quotes in PDF Format | Penn State Quotes in PDF Format
INDIANAPOLIS, IND., March 11, 2010 - A disappointing season came to an end in a disappointing manner Thursday in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis as Penn State trailed by as many as 27 and never led in a 76-55 loss to No. 6 seeded Minnesota (19-12).
Penn State, the No. 11 seed, ends the season at 11-20 as the Lions hit 39 percent from the floor and saw 14 turnovers turned into 21 points for the Gophers. Minnesota hit a blistering 69 percent in the second half to extend an eight-point half time lead to 20 with 13:19 to play and then ran away from the Lions. The Gophers hit 58 percent for the game and 9-of-19 from three as they kept alive their hopes for an NCAA Tournament bid.
Four Nittany Lions scored 10 points in the game as Talor Battle, Chris Babb, David Jackson and Andrew Jones led the Penn State scoring ledger. With no seniors on the roster, Penn State can return all nine players that saw action in the game. Battle ends the season with 574 points, the sixth-best single season mark in Lion history. The Sporting News first-team All-Big Ten selection will enter his senior campaign with 1,526 points, just 612 shy of the all-time mark of 2,138 points set by All-American Jesse Arnelle from 1952-55.
Devoe Joseph led four Gophers in double-figures with 15 points on 3-of-4 shooting from three. Colton Iverson had 12, Damian Johnson 11 and Lawrence Westbrook 10 for a Gopher team that got eight steals.
A jumper from Jones had Penn State within eight just over a minute-and-a-half into the second half, but Minnesota used an 8-0 run fueled by threes from Blake Hoffarber and Joseph to build a 16-point lead, 41-25, in the next three minutes.
Jeff Brooks broke the run with a drive and a three-point play, but Minnesota used a 12-2 run capped by a pair of Iverson free throws to build a 23-point lea, 53-30, with 11:13 to play and seemingly break the Lions will.
Penn State never made a run again as Minnesota built the lead to 27 on a Devron Bostick three with 6:40 to play.
Penn State trailed by as many as 15 in a poor shooting first half, but rallied to find itself down just nine, 29-20, at halftime after Babb strung together five straight points on a three and a 15-foot jumper in the closing seconds. The Lions managed just 32 percent from the floor and 2-of-10 from three in the half while Minnesota hit at 45 percent and 3-of-9 from the arc. Penn State turned the ball over nine times leading to 15 Minnesota points. The Lions were whistled for just seven fouls, but Jeff Brooks picked up three of those to find himself in foul trouble.
Minnesota jumped to a 7-0 lead as Penn State didn't get on the board until a David Jackson bucket at the 16:50 mark. That sparked a 7-0 run for the Lions that tied the game at, 7-7, when Andrew Jones scored on a nice spin mover on Ralph Sampson III.
Penn State then suffered through a five-minute scoreless stretch that saw Minnesota take a 21-9 lead. During the stretch Battle re-aggravated the right ankle he sprained in a Wednesday practice and had to leave the floor for several minutes.
Jones finally ended the drought for the Lions when he put-back a Tim Frazier miss with 7:20 to play. Minnesota stretched its lead to 15 when Damian Johnson pump-faked Jeff Brooks and went in for a lay-up with 5:48 to play in the half.
Battle got his first bucket of the game with 4:48 to play and got the Lions within 13. After a free throw from Paul Carter made it 29-15 Gophers, Babb buried his three and then the jumper to give Penn Stat some life going into the locker room.
Minnesota will take on No. 3 seed Michigan State (24-7; 14-4) in the quarterfinals of the tournament at approximately 9:00 p.m. on Friday.
The Nittany Lions close their seventh season under head coach Ed DeChellis, a frustrating campaign in which they lost eight Big Ten games and 11 games overall on the season by six points or less or in overtime. The Lions had won three of six to close the regular season and played three top 15 teams to close games in that stretch before falling by two at No. 11 Michigan State, by four to No. 6 Purdue and by eight to No. 9 Ohio State.