Quick Report: Wisconsin 66, Penn State 60

Marley Paul (@MarleyPaul22)
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Another late rally fell short in Happy Valley as Penn State tried to play catch up, but couldn’t quite overcome an early double-digit deficit, losing 66-60 to Wisconsin on Thursday. Penn State (11-9, 2-5 Big Ten) coach Pat Chambers is now 0-8 against the Badgers, while the Nittany Lions haven’t beat Wisconsin (11-9, 3-4 B1G) since 2011 when they beat them twice in the same season.

At first…
Scoring droughts have plagued the Nittany Lions all season, and this one came early in the game as Penn State watch Wisconsin go on a 9-0 run through four minutes into the game to take a 9-3 advantage. Penn State trailed 27-18 heading into the half after committing nine turnovers and shooting 31 percent.

Brandon Taylor had his hands full being matched up with Nigel Hayes on both ends of the floor. The two forwards played each other aggressively, Hayes winning the battle in the first half, holding Taylor scoreless in 14 minutes of action.

Turning point…
A 16-point lead quickly vanished for Wisconsin finally got things flowing with six minutes left to play. Coupled with aggressive play from Shep Garner and two 3-point buckets from Payton Banks, the Nittany Lions found themselves down 52-45 with 4:21 remaining. After exchanging points over the next few minutes, things got interesting when senior Devin Foster drilled a 3-pointer, his second of the game, to bring them within 3 with 30 seconds. Unfortunately those were the last points scored by Penn State for the evening, as Wisconsin closed the game out on the free throw line.

Shining Stars...
Not too many bright spots for the Nittany Lions on Thursday, but Julian Moore had a solid game in his second consecutive start. The Germantown Academy grad pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds, almost a third of the team’s total rebounds, while almost picking up a double-double, scoring eight points. Moore’s play has been up and down this season, but this was a good showing as Jordan Dickerson struggled with foul trouble.

Noteworthy Number(s)…
24: By the final whistle, both teams were evenly matched, not much separating them in shooting, rebounding or turnover margin. However, the Badgets were able to muscle in the paint for 24 points, in large part due to Ethan Happ’s 20 points on 5 of 11 (10 of 15 from the free throw line).

Up next...
Penn State (11-9, 2-5 Big Ten) @ Ohio State (Jan. 25 7 p.m.)
Wisconsin (11-9, 3-4 Big Ten) vs. Indiana Tuesday, Jan. 26 7 p.m.