The Nittany Lions fought valiantly, but in the end it was just too much Indiana --too much Alan Henderson.

After tying the game at 31-31 with just over five minutes remaining before the half, the Lions seemed to be in control. They had come back from a seven-point deficit, now they were in position to make their move -- put the Hoosiers away.

But Bob Knight and company wouldn't let that happen, going on a 13-3 run to end the half up by 10 -- the eventual margin of victory on Saturday. The final score: No. 14 Indiana (14-4 overall, 7-2 in the Big Ten) 76, Penn State 66 (10-8, 3-6).

"You look at them and you're like, 'How are they doing that?' " shooting guard Michael Jennings said of Indiana's players. "The next thing you know you're down by 10 . . . then you're down by 15 and you're like, 'Damn, how'd that happen?'

"Anything you try -- they're gonna keep that lead," he added. "A three-point lead, that's good for them. A five-point lead is even better."

That was exactly what happened, too. Anything Penn State tried, the Hoosiers wouldn't give in. The Lions would get as close as three before the Hoosiers eventually pulled away.

Henderson seemingly had his way with the Lions, as the junior scored 20 points to go along with his 16 rebounds. Senior Pat Graham threw in 21 to go along with 10 for senior Damon Bailey, and 11 for the other Indiana senior Todd Leary.

Rahsaan Carlton paced the Nittany Lions with a career-high 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting. Center John Amaechi tossed in 13, but was not much of a factor on the afternoon, as the Hoosier defense neutralized the big center with double- and triple-teams all afternoon.

But ultimately, the Lions were done in by a poor shooting performance from the field, 36.2 percent, and what Coach Bruce Parkhill described as "soft" interior defense.

"They scored on us at will," Parkhill said.

Henderson found himself with good position in the low post all day -- that wasn't surprising. But Graham's output was, to some extent, after sub-par performances had kept him on Knight's bench until Saturday.

Knight put the senior back in the starting rotation, and Graham made the most of his opportunity to start against the Lions.

"I was on the bench for a reason," he said. "Maybe I learned something. Maybe we all learned something."

Graham was also part of the key stoppage in play which seemed to take some of the Lions momentum away late in the second half. With the Hoosiers up 66-61, the referees stopped play when Graham hit the floor, losing a contact lens.

Parkhill downplayed the significance of the lull in the action.

"It also gave us a chance to regroup and catch a little of a breather," he said.

Notes:

-- Indiana's Knight could not be reached for comment after his team's win. As one Indiana sports information representative said, "His voice is going hoarse."

-- Steve Wydman made his first career start in place of Jennings. Jennings said he had not really played competitively since Monday, when he suffered a blow to the head in practice. Then, in Wednesday's loss to Illinois, the senior guard sustained a mild concussion.