Penn State Men’s Basketball Claims 85-71 Win Over Indiana for Second Straight Road Win

Penn State men’s basketball traveled into Bloomington and defeated Indiana 85-71 behind a balanced scoring attack and an incredible shooting display.

It’s the second straight road victory for the Nittany Lions and their first win in Assembly Hall since Feb. 12, 2014.

Five different players scored in double figures for Penn State as their offensive outburst led to an impressive 57% shooting from the field and 55% from beyond the arc.

The Nittany Lions nailed 12 triples on the day to tie their season-high with Zach Hicks and Jameel Brown each finding their stroke and burying four a piece.

Hicks finished with a season-high 19 points and added five rebounds while Brown reached double figures for just the third time this season with 14 points.

Early in the first half, Indiana established themselves down low and dominated the paint en route to 26 points in the paint in the first half.

The main aggressor for Indiana was center Kel’el Ware who couldn’t be stopped in the first half, scoring 17 points while shooting a perfect 6-for-6 from the field and grabbing seven rebounds.

Penn State hung around and managed to close the gap to just four heading into the locker room behind six made three-pointers and nine points each from Jameel Brown and Ace Baldwin Jr.

Out of the locker room, Penn State went on a 10-0 run to claim the lead and they never looked back as they led the rest of the way.

One of the key reasons for Penn State’s success in the second half was limiting Ware down low.

After a stellar first half, Ware did not score until the eight-and-a-half-minute mark in the second half as Penn State continued to pour it on and extend their lead.

Without leading scorer Kanye Clary for a second straight game, Ace Baldwin Jr. took matters into his own hands and finished the game with 22 points and eight assists while playing all 40 minutes of the game.

Penn State shot 64% from the field and 60% from three-point land in the second half alone as the Hoosiers had no answer for the barrage of triples hit by Penn State.

The Nittany Lions took care of the ball, committing only six turnovers in the entire game and converted 13 Hoosier turnovers into 17 points.

It’s another road win for Penn State and head coach Mike Rhoades who prior to this week, had not won a Big Ten away game.

Indiana falls to 13-9 on the year and 5-6 in conference play while Penn State improves to .500 on the year with an 11-11 record and improves to a 5-6 record in the Big Ten.

Mike Rhoades and his coaching staff seem to have found the right formula without the services of Kanye Clary, but there is still work to do if they want to make noise in the postseason.

Penn State will return home to the Bryce Jordan Center this Thursday to clash with the Iowa Hawkeyes at 7 p.m. on Big Ten Network.

Thomas English is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email tfe5082@psu.edu.