Jan. 7, 2013
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UNIVERSITY PARK, PA.; JAN. 7, 2013 - The Penn State men's basketball team (8-6, 0-2 Big Ten) suffered a 74-51 loss in its Big Ten home opener to No. 5 Indiana (14-1, 2-0 Big Ten) on Monday as the Hoosiers shot 52 percent and forced the Lions into a season high 19 turnovers to snap a five-game home winning streak for the Lions.
Penn State returns to action on Thursday as it takes on Big Ten foe Northwestern in an 8 p.m. tip in the Bryce Jordan Center televised live on ESPNU.
Sophomore Ross Travis (Chaska, Minn.) led the Nittany Lions in scoring for the first time in his career with 14 points and also tallied five rebounds. Junior Jermaine Marshall (Etters, Pa.) logged 11 points and had a team-high seven boards. He also tallied three assists. Sophomore D.J. Newbill (Philadelphia, Pa.) tallied eight points and three assists, but struggled against the Hoosier pressure committing five of the Lions 19 turnovers that led to 19 Indiana points off turnovers.
"When you play a team like Indiana, you have to produce points," Penn State coach Patrick Chambers said. "If you don't produce any points, it is going to be a long night. I saw a little bit of last year in tonight a little bit. We couldn't take care of the basketball in certain parts of the game and some of our decisions were poor."
Penn State suffered its first offensive struggles at home in a month shooting just 31 percent overall and 5-of-18 from three. The Nittany Lions out-rebounded the Hoosiers 35-33 and pulled down 17 offensive rebounds for 14 second chance points, but couldn't keep pace with an Indiana team that shot 52 percent (22-of-42), including going 8-for-16 from beyond the three-point arc.
The Hoosiers had four players in double-figures led by 16 points from Christian Watford and 15 from preseason All-American Cody Zeller. Indiana made 22-of-34 free throw attempts out-scoring the Lions, who went 8-of-11, by 14 points at the foul line.
After a basket by the Hoosiers to start the game, freshman Brandon Taylor (Tabernacle, N.J.) sank a three for a 3-2 Penn State edge. Indiana took off on a three-minute 12-0 run for a 15-3 lead. Travis cut off the Hoosier run with a three-pointer, but Indiana's Remy Abell went 2-for-2 at the line before hitting a fast break jumper to increase the IU lead to 13, 19-6, with 12:37 left in the first half.
Another five points by the Hoosiers pushed Indiana's advantage to 17, 25-8. Marshall hit a three to bring PSU within 14, 25-11. Abell answered with a trifecta and Travis scored on a jumper to keep Penn State within 15, 28-13.
Following a Indiana three-pointer, Penn State had a six-point run on back-to-back three-point plays from Newbill and senior Sasa Borovnjak (Belgrade, Serbia) to make it 31-19 in favor of Indiana with 7:04 on the clock. Yogi Ferrell and Watford were both fouled and combined to go 3-for-4 at the foul line giving Indiana a 15-point lead at the 6:13 mark. Marshall sank a jumper, but Indiana was unfazed answering with a trey and a dunk by Cody Zeller for a 39-21 lead.
Baskets by Newbill and Marshall sandwiched an IU dunk to move Penn State within 16, 41-25. Travis tallied two on a jumper with a little more than a minute remaining in the half as Indiana headed into halftime with a 44-27 lead.
Both teams struggled with turnovers in the second half as both teams committed four straight turnovers each to begin the half. Penn State was not able to capitalize on the opportunities as Indiana committed 12 of its 17 turnovers in the second half and scored just 30 points. The Lions returned the favor committing 11 of their 19 turnovers in the second stanza and shot 28 percent in the half to score 24 points.
A jumper by Travis and a layup by Marshall narrowed the IU lead to 14, 45-31, to start the second half. The Hoosiers regained a comfortable lead as they put up five straight points for a 19-point advantage, 50-31, with 13:33 on the clock. A Borovnjak bucket prevented an extended Hoosier run before three points from Newbill and two from Travis had the Lions within 16, 54-38.
Watford nailed a three, but Travis fired right back with a three-pointer of his own to keep the Lions within 16, 57-41. Four consecutive points from Indiana pushed the Hoosiers lead over 20, 61-41, at the 7:48 mark. However, Penn State kept fighting and was back within 16, 63-47, thanks to a layup from Pat Ackerman (Rutland, Mass.) and the first career three from freshman Donovan Jack (Reading, Pa.).
The Lions would get no closer as a Will Sheehey three closed the door.
For all the latest information, notes, pictures and related links on Penn State basketball follow Associate Athletic Communications Director Brian Siegrist (@PSUSTRETCH) and the official Penn State men's basketball handle (@PennStateMBB) on Twitter and check GoPSUsports.com. The Nittany Lions are also on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pennstatebasketball.
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GAME NOTES
• Indiana now leads the series with Penn State 32-9, winning the last four meetings. Penn State is 5-13 at home against the Hoosiers.
• Penn State is now 8-13 in its first home Big Ten game of the season.
• The loss snapped a five-game home winning streak and dropped Penn State to 7-2 at home.
• Sophomore Ross Travis led the Lions with 14 points. It was the first time in his career leading the Lions in scoring. He now has 10 career double-digit scoring games, including five this season.
• Junior Jermaine Marshall was second on the team with 11 points. He has 32 career double-digit scoring games. Marshall also led the team in rebounds with seven.
• Freshman Donovan Jack continued to aid the Nittany Lion lineup, appearing for eight minutes against the Hoosiers. He has played at least eight minutes in each of the last five games to help stretch the Nittany Lion rotation to eight.
• Jack made his first career three with a baseline jumper with 5:58 to play.
• The Lions won the rebounding battle 35-33 and recorded 17 offensive rebounds.
• Penn State's 31.7% shooting snapped a string of seven straight games shooting better than 40%.