IOWA CITY, Iowa -- As the 6-foot-5, 185-pounder walked slowly off the parquet floor, Iowa Men's Basketball Coach Tom Davis gave him a pat on the back -- Greg Bartram's effort would not go unnoticed.

Despite Penn State's 81-70 loss to Iowa, the Chapmanville W.Va., native managed to light up the scoreboard inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena for a career-high 18 points. At times, the slender kid with the crew cut seemed unconscious.

"I don't know if I was really in a zone or not," Bartram said. "I was just glad I could knock down the open shot."

The junior was 7-of-12 from the field in 30 minutes on the court. He hit a total of four shots from behind the three-point stripe --another career-high.

Although Bartram's shooting spree was overshadowed by a raucous and sometimes unbearable Iowa crowd, it was a pleasant surprise for Coach Bruce Parkhill.

"It was really good to see Greg break out of it," Parkhill said. "We need some more production from our three-position. Finally, one of the two guys broke out and gave us some help."

Bartram went into the game on Saturday, averaging 18.2 minutes and only 6.2 points. His highest scoring output this season had been 10 points against Delaware State at the Lowcountry Classic.

"I wasn't really comfortable the past few games," Bartram said. "I just wanted to come in and let the game come to me. I think that helped me out a lot."

Bartram said the relentless defensive pressure applied by the Hawkeyes throughout the game stymied the Nittany Lions' offensive attack.

"We were really hoping to grab at least one of these last two road games, but we didn't," Bartram said. "And now we have to come back home and play strong against Purdue on Thursday."