PSU’s comeback falls short against Wisconsin

Penn State made a late comeback attempt, but the Nittany Lions fell short in a 66-60 loss to Wisconsin at the Bryce Jordan Center on Thursday night.

Penn State pulled within five points with more than three minutes left and within three points in the final minute after trailing by as many as 17. But the team couldn’t overcome its poor offensive performance for the first 33 minutes.

“For whatever reason, we just didn’t get going until late in the second half,” Penn State coach Patrick Chambers said. “You can’t do that in this league. You got to be able to play 40 minutes, and I don’t know what’s going on at home. We’re just not playing good basketball in this arena right now.”

Brandon Taylor, Penn State’s leading scorer on the season, didn’t score until nearly 27 minutes into the game. Taylor finished with a team-high 13 points.

Payton Banks added 11 points, and Shep Garner and Devin Foster each had 10 for the Nittany Lions (11-9, 2-5 Big Ten). Julian Moore added eight points and 10 rebounds.

Ethan Happ finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Badgers (11-9, 3-4). Wisconsin’s Nigel Hayes added 15 points.

The Nittany Lions fell behind by 17 with just more than seven minutes left before making a comeback. Penn State hit four straight shots, including three 3-pointers, to pull within 52-45 with more than four minutes left.

Banks hit the third 3 during the hot stretch, holding his follow through as the shot went down. A pair of free throws by Taylor cut the Wisconsin lead to five points, but Nigel Hayes answered with a 3-pointer on the following possession.

Penn State continued to battle in the final two minutes

Foster knocked down a 3-pointer to make it 63-60 with 30 seconds left, but the Badgers held on for the win.

“I’m proud of the fight,” Chambers said. “There’s no doubt I’m proud of the fight, but I’m just disappointed. I don’t know where we were for 32 minutes.”

More than seven minutes into the game, Penn State had as many turnovers as points. The Nittany Lions trailed the Badgers 13-5 at the time. The offensive troubles continued as Penn State didn’t reach double figures until a pair of free throws by Garner cut Wisconsin’s lead to 17-11 with 7:10 left in the half.

The Nittany Lions went 5 for 16 from the field and had nine turnovers in the first half. Penn State was also 7 for 11 from the foul line in the first 20 minutes and went into the break trailing 27-18.

Taylor, who came into the game averaging a team-high 16.4 points per game, took one shot and went scoreless in 14 minutes in the first half.

“Wisconsin played great defense, and that’s a credit to them,” Taylor said. “I just got to get back in the gym and just get back to work. There’s nothing I can really do about it now.”

Taylor hit a short jumper just outside the paint for his first points of the game to pull his team within 40-25 with 13:08 left. Less than a minute later, he spun baseline and finished again to cut the deficit to 11.

But before that point, Taylor had trouble on the offensive end against the 6-foot-8, 240-pound Hayes.

“He’s disappointed with the way he played tonight,” Chambers said. “He picked it up toward the end there, which is great. And he’s been real consistent all year. Brandon Taylor’s been real consistent so I know he’s gonna come back strong.”

Notes: Penn State returns to action at Ohio State at 7 p.m. Monday. … Chambers said Donovon Jack hurt his back in the second half. Jack played three minutes in the second half. He had three points and three rebounds in 14 minutes. … Chambers said Garner was sick during the week. He was 2 for 7 from the field and 6 for 6 from the foul line. Garner also had four assists and three turnovers in 33 minutes.

This story was originally published January 21, 2016 at 10:26 PM with the headline "PSU’s comeback falls short against Wisconsin."