Nittany Lions stun Hoosiers

Julian Moore finished off the glass, over Indiana’s Thomas Bryant, and the Penn State celebration began.

Moore gave a few fist pumps. Shep Garner smacked the floor twice with his right hand, then high-fived backcourt mate Devin Foster. Brandon Taylor looked to the fans and motioned for them to get louder.

Moore then stepped to the foul line and knocked down the free throw to complete the three-point play.

It was the final momentum-swinging play — giving Penn State a three-point lead with 73 seconds left — in the Nittany Lions’ 68-63 win over No. 22 Indiana on Saturday night at the Bryce Jordan Center.

Penn State (12-12, 3-8) stayed with the Big Ten’s first-place Hoosiers (19-5, 9-2) from the opening tip to the final buzzer to pull off the upset. Taylor paced Penn State with 24 points, Foster had 13 and Garner added 12. Penn State freshman Josh Reaves, who had missed the previous six games due to mononucleosis, played 10 minutes.

Another celebration began when the final seconds ran off the clock.

Garner raised both arms in triumph. Taylor made his way to halfcourt, right in front of the Legion of Blue, to enjoy the win with the student section. Foster leaped on the table on the same sideline and raised his right arm and finger in the air. And Taylor and Garner then came together for a hug.

It continued into the locker room.

“They were awesome in that locker room,” Penn State coach Patrick Chambers said. “I know I don’t let cameras in because that’s my sanctuary. I want them to have a great time. I want them to be themselves and not cater to a camera. They were awesome. They were just high-fiving, chest bumping, hugging because they are working hard, and they deserve it.”

The win snapped Penn State’s four-game losing streak. The Nittany Lions trailed by at least seven points at the break in each of those losses, and their opponents owned double-digit leads with 15 minutes to go. They made comebacks in two games and suffered blowout losses in the other two.

Penn State broke that trend Saturday night.

The Nittany Lions played with energy early and jumped out to a lead.

Garner picked off a pass intended for Yogi Ferrell and raced downcourt for a layup in the opening minute. Penn State center Jordan Dickerson got the crowd going with a block as he sent away a shot attempt by Indiana’s Collin Hartman. On the other end, Moore finished through a foul inside and immediately fired a fist pump.

Moore completed the three-point play, and the Nittany Lions led 8-5 less than three minutes into the game.

Foster then nailed a 3-pointer to push that lead to six. The strong start set the tone for a tight first half, with neither team leading by more than six points in the game. Indiana never led by more than four points and took a 34-33 lead into halftime.

“I thought we played crisp, simple, solid basketball,” Chambers said of his team’s overall performance. “Don’t get me wrong, we made mistakes. But we played so hard, we covered up for those mistakes.”

The game was close throughout the second half, too.

Garner powered the Penn State offense early in the second half, scoring six points and connecting on an alley oop with Dickerson. Garner’s played helped Penn State pull even at 41-41, and a Foster layup gave the Nittany Lions a two-point lead with 15:04 left.

Taylor swished a 3 from the corner with less than nine minutes left to give Penn State a 50-48 lead with less than nine minutes to play. Foster’s drive and finish down the left side of the lane pushed the lead to four. And another Taylor 3 pushed the Nittany Lions ahead 55-50, bringing the crowd to life once again.

But Indiana erased the deficit in 30 seconds after a layup by Johnson and a 3 by Nick Zeisloft.

Penn State was ready to respond.

“Throughout the whole game, all I was thinking was just keep punching,” Taylor said. “They’re gonna go on runs, we’re gonna go on runs, but (it’s) who can take the punches the most and respond as a team that’s gonna win.”

The Nittany Lions landed the decisive blow on Moore’s three-point play.

Bryant knocked down a pair of free throws to pull the Hoosiers within one with 1:05 left, but Garner hit 4 of 6 foul shots in the final 37 seconds to seal the win and end Penn State’s slide.

“The coaches and the players have had long nights in this BJC,” Taylor said. “It’s a great feeling that that hard work pays off. We’re just excited for this win, but we’re not going to get too happy. We’re going to get right back to work.”

Penn State returns to action at Nebraska at 6 p.m. Saturday.

This story was originally published February 6, 2016 at 10:29 PM with the headline "Nittany Lions stun Hoosiers."