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Second-half flurry lifts Indiana past Penn State

PHILADELPHIA — With snow forecasted for southeastern Pennsylvania, few could blame the Indiana Hoosiers for wanting to get out of town quickly. After a sluggish first half, Indiana overpowered a formidable Penn State squad to pick up a Big Ten Conference victory.

Mackenzie Mgbako scored eight points out of the lockerroom to spark a 12-0 Indiana second-half run as the Hoosiers bounced the host Nittany Lions 77-71 at the Palestra in Philadelphia on Sunday afternoon.

Mgbako, who had a relatively quiet first half with five points, knocked down four of his first five shots to start the second stanza. He finished with 20 points, while Indiana’s Oumar Ballo scored 14 points of his game-high 25 in the opening half as the two teams were tied at 29-all at the half. Luke Goode added six points.

The Nittany Lions put eight players in the scoring column over the first 20 minutes, led by Puff Johson and Nick Kern who each had six points. Penn State (12-3, 2-2 Big Ten) led 27-23 with 6:29 remaining in the first half before the Hoosiers (12-3, 3-1) answered with a commanding 18-2 run.

The Nittany Lions rallied on several occasions in the second half, trimming a 16-point deficit to single digits at 62-54 at the 7:44 mark after a layup by Freddie Dilione V and free throw by Kern. Penn State hit five consecutive shots from the field

during that stretch.

Mgbako then drilled a trey to push the Indiana cushion back to double digits. The Nittany Lions put together one final run as a Zach Hicks’ three made it a 73-71 game with 1:43 to go.

Mgbako and Myles Rice sealed the win by making all four shots to set the final score as Penn State held the Hoosiers without a field goal for the last 3:21. Hicks and Ace Baldwin missed threes in the final minute.

Good ended up with 12 points as the Hoosiers put three players in double figures. Kern led Penn State with 21 points, hitting 8 of 13 shots from the field, while Baldin had 12 points to go with seven assists and Dilione added 11 points.

The Nittany Lions hit 46.0 percent of their shots from the field but struggled from long range, missing their first 12 three-point attempts. They warmed up slightly, finishing at 3 for 21.

Indiana also struggled from long range in the first half, managing to hit 2 of 11 three-point attempts. The Hoosiers found the hot hand during the second half, connecting on 7 of 12 shots including 3 of 4 by Mgbako and 2 of 2 by Goode.

Indiana also controlled the boards by a 39-33 margin, with Ballo grabbing 13 rebounds. Yanic Konan Niederhauser had eight rebounds to lead Penn State to go with seven points.

UP NEXT

Penn State: Visits No. 22 Illinois on Wednesday.

Indiana: Hosts USC on Wednesday.

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