BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Penn State (8-11; 0-7 Big Ten) fell to No. 7-ranked Indiana (17-2; 5-1 Big Ten) Wednesday (Jan. 23) night in Bloomington, Ind. as the Hoosiers came out red hot in the second half to blow open a 14-point half time lead and post a 72-49 victory.
Penn State was led by sophomore guard D.J. Newbill (Philadelphia, Pa.) who recorded 18 points, seven rebounds and a career high four steals in 39 minutes, but also had eight turnovers on tough night against the Hoosier press. Junior guard Jermaine Marshall (Etters, Pa.) posted 12 points and six rebounds for a Lion team that shot 33 percent and committed 18 turnovers.
Indiana shot 45 percent for the game but was red hot through most of the second half before finishing at 55 percent shooting and 6-of-8 from three in the final 20 minutes. The Hoosiers hit 11-of-20 from three on the night, but were just 21-of-37 (56%) from the foul line. Victor Oladipo led four Hoosiers in double-figures with 19 points. Christian Watford had a near double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds and Yogi Ferrell and Will Sheehey both hit three treys to post 15 and 12 points, respectively.
Indiana opened the second half with back-to-back threes from Yogi Ferrell and Jordan Hulls to spur and 8-0 run that pushed a 14-point Hoosier lead to 22, 41-19, just a minute into the second half. After a Penn State timeout, back-to-back baskets by D.J. Newbill, including a steal and a dunk, stabilized the Lions and cut the lead to 41-23, but the Hoosiers went 5-of-5 from three and shot 70 percent from the floor in the opening eight minutes of the half to hold a 55-34 lead with 11:29 to play.
The Hoosiers continued their hot shooting throughout the half, hitting their first six from the three-point arc before finally missing to build as much as a 25-point lead. But, Penn State fought hard and Newbill’s play on both ends helped whittle the Hoosier margin under 20 on a couple of occasions and never let Indiana, the nation’s highest scoring team, run completely out of sight.
The Lions trailed by 14, 33-19, after a first half in which the Hoosiers shot 37 percent and the Lions hit 27 percent. Marshall had nine first half points to lead the Lions who trailed 21-14 before Indiana closed the half on a 12-5 run fueled by back-to-back threes and eight late points by Will Sheehey.
Penn State will return the Bryce Jordan Center on Saturday to take on No. 14-ranked Ohio State in a noon tip on ESPN2.
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