UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – In a down-to-the-wire game, No. 23 Iowa tied the contest at 82 with 2:02 remaining and won the game with a critical 3-point basket by Jordan Bohannon and four free throws for an 89-82 final at the Bryce Jordan Center Wednesday night. Senior guard Josh Reaves and freshman guard Rasir Bolton scored 16 points each to lead the Nittany Lions and redshirt junior Mike Watkins recorded his 24th career double-double with 11 points and rebounds.
Iowa took a seven point-lead 79-72 with 4:18 left in the game, but back-to-back 3-pointers by Reaves and a layup by junior forward Lamar Stevens put Penn State up 80-79 a little over a minute later. A free throw by Hawkeye Connor McCaffery would tie the game and Luke Garza's trip to the line put Iowa up by one, 83-82, with 1:36 left in the game.
Bohannon's 3-pointer was a second-chance situation after Iowa rebounded a 3-point miss that gave the Hawkeyes another opportunity. Ryan Kriener grabbed a Penn State turnover with 20 seconds left in the game, added another free throw after being fouled and Joe Wieskamp made two more for the 89-82 final.
"I thought we competed," said Penn State men's basketball coach Patrick Chambers. "We came back and really competed after Michigan State. It's unfortunate that our defense wasn't as good as it's been all season long. For us to score 82, 23 assists, 12 turnovers, the stats look fantastic. But, unfortunately we couldn't get stops when we needed to and we go back to the drawing board. We'll go back to work tomorrow and we have to keep showing up. That's what I told them. Keep showing up. We finally saw the ball go through the basket, which is an incredible positive and we needed that."
The second half see-sawed back and forth as the two teams exchanged leads seven times in the period with four ties. Iowa tied the game at 47 and went up 53-49 after a Garza layup, but a technical called on Garza gave Bolton two free throws and then Jamari Wheeler nailed a three-pointer from the right side to give the Nittany Lions back the lead, 54-52.
Iowa trimmed the Nittany Lion lead from six to three with three-straight baskets in the paint by Ryan Kriener. Penn State expanded its lead to eight, but a Bohannon triple and layups by Garza and Kreiner brought it back within a single point, 72-71 Penn State. A another field goal in the paint and then Bohannon 3-pointer moved Iowa to a 77-72 score with exactly five minutes to go. McCaffery's layup gave Iowa it's largest lead of the second half before the Nittany Lions battled back to an even score 82-82.
Reaves not only had a share of the team lead for points, he dished off for seven assists and had four steals. With his four steals, he moved into a tie with Titus Ivory for third place on Penn State's career steals list with 218 and into a tie for the No. 9 spot on the Big Ten career list with Ivory and Illinois' Kendal Gill. Wheeler reached his career high with seven assists with only one turnover and had five points to go along with four rebounds.
Penn State took a five-point advantage, 45-40, at halftime and shot 50 percent from the field (18-36). Myles Dread helped the Nittany Lions to a quick start with three 3-pointers in 80 seconds as Penn State took an 8-0 and then 11-3 lead. Iowa tied the game at 20 midway through the first half and used three-straight 3-pointers to take a 29-20 advantage.
The Nittany Lions used a 11-4 run over the next two-and-half minutes to pull within two, 33-31 and then again at 35-37. Penn State's 10-3 run end the period sparked with a three-point play by Watkins and then seven-straight points form Bolton.
Garza finished the night with 22 points and 12 rebounds, topping the Hawkeyes' columns in both categories. Bohannan had 19 points with three of his five 3-pointers coming in the second half and six assists. Iowa had five players with double figures.
The Nittany Lions travel next to Minnesota for a Saturday, Jan. 19 game vs. the Golden Gophers. Tipoff is 8:30 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network. Penn State returns to the Bryce Jordan Center for its annual THON game at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 26 vs. Rutgers.
For information or to purchase Penn State men's single-game tickets, visit GoPSUsports.com/mbbsinglegametix or call 1-800-NITTANY, weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Keep up to date with the latest information from Coach Chambers and the Nittany Lions on Twitter by following @Coach_Chambers and @PennStateMBB, on Facebook and Instagram at @PennStateMBB.
