Penn State Snaps Losing Streak in Dogfight With Iowa
Penn State needed something positive to happen after three road losses and an unforgiving trip to overtime Monday. Myles Dread and Jalen Pickett made sure it happened against Iowa.
Dread made a 3-pointer late in the first overtime, Pickett scored Penn State's first five points of the second overtime and Dread cashed in two key free throws as the Lions outlasted Iowa 90-86 at the Bryce Jordan Center.
"It took everybody to do it, and I'm just proud of our resiliency," Penn State coach Micah Shrewsberry told Big Ten Network after the game. "We didn't come out and fight the last time that we played [a 74-57 loss at Indiana], but to be able to come back and do this is special."
Playing their first home game in 20 days, the Lions rallied from their own lost momentum, forged past a crazy finish to regulation and outscored the Hawkeyes 12-8 in the second overtime. It was a grueling way to return to .500 on the season, but Penn State basketball (9-9, 4-6 Big Ten) seldom takes the easy road.
Shrewsberry had the Lions playing strong defense through an early January stretch in which they won three of four games. Then, Penn State dropped a difficult game at Ohio State, had a home game with Minnesota postponed and ended up playing three straight on the road.
The Lions lost back-to-back games (at Iowa and Indiana) by 17 points each and returned home needing to reset their season. They looked poised to do that Monday, taking an early 10-point lead early against a sluggish Iowa (14-7). Shrewsberry challenged the Lions before the game.
"If your heart's not beating fast right now and you're [not] ready to go, if your care meter isn't as high as it could possibly go right now, then I don't have the guys in the locker room that I think I have in here," Shrewsberry said he told the team before the game. "I told them, I'm going to play the guys that stick to our game plan and I’m going to play the guys that move the basketball and share it and play the right way. And you're going to fight on the glass and do everything possible. But I wanted to see our response, I wanted to see our resolve, and I thought we had that tonight."
Penn State didn't shoot exceptionally well (44.6 percent from the field, 22.2 percent from 3-point range) but rebounded strongly and slathered Iowa in defense. The Lions led for 66 percent of the game, nearly 33 minutes, and gripped tight to a 2-point lead with 8 seconds left in regulation.
Then this happened.
Keegan Murray (game-high 21 points, all after halftime) tipped home Jordan Bohannon's missed 3-pointer just before the buzzer, sending Penn State to overtime for the second time this season. The Lions lost to LSU in December; this round went better.
Though Penn State chased for much of the first overtime, Dread made the decisive basket, a 3-pointer with 9.7 seconds left to tie the score. The Lions went just 3-for-7 from the field in the first OT, but two were 3-pointers.
Pickett, the team's leading scorer this season, delivered an offensive spark in the second OT, scoring the first five points as Penn State took an 83-80 lead. Iowa, meanwhile, went 2-for-11 in the second OT, and Dread sealed the game by making a pair of free throws with 12.2 seconds left.
That helped compensate for Sam Sessoms' missed free throw late in regulation, giving Murray the chance to make the tying tip-in.
Penn State's John Harrar played another determined game, scoring a career-high 19 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Seth Lundy also had a double-double (17 and 11), Pickett scored 13 points and Dread added 12.
Penn State improved to 7-3 at home this season. The Lions return to the road, visiting Wisconsin on Saturday. After a four-day break, the Lions will play six games in 16 days.
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