Hoosiers rally for win over cagers

By RYAN JONES
Collegian Sports Writer

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- For the first 15 minutes of their game at Indiana on Saturday, the members of the men's basketball team seemed to have forgotten who they were playing and where.

For those 15 minutes, it looked as if neither the daunting reputation of Hoosier basketball history, the imposing presence of Bob Knight nor the shrill, droning cheers that resound through hangar-like Assembly Hall would spook the Lions.

And when forward Rahsaan Carlton took a clever pass from Pete Lisicky and jammed it for a 26-23 Penn State lead with 5 minutes, 37 seconds left in the half, it looked like the Lions might finally get their first-ever win against Indiana.

Then things got back to normal.

The Hoosiers proceeded to go on an 11-2 run that included the last seven points of the stanza, giving themselves a six-point lead at the break. They followed with a 14-5 stretch to open the second half, burying the Lions on their way to a 73-60 victory.

The win gave Indiana (16-10, 8-6 Big Ten) a boost in its quest for an NCAA tournament bid, while dealing a blow to Penn State (15-9, 7-8) and its own tourney hopes. In the wake of the game, Knight was quick to credit his team's surge just before the break.

"The key for us in the game was the last five minutes of the first half, where we were down and then came up six ahead," the Hoosier coach said. "Those five minutes really enabled us to be in a position where we had a chance to win."

If those minutes were important, Hoosier Alan Henderson was invaluable. The senior forward and All-America candidate contributed six points, an assist and a blocked shot to the half-ending run and finished the game with 23 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks.

"He showed why he's one of the best players in the country," Penn State Coach Bruce Parkhill said. "He showed intensity and, in the first half, when the game was tight, he made some plays, just took it to us."

Henderson did most of his damage in the first half with 15 points and eight boards, then opened the second half with a menacing reverse dunk over Penn State center John Amaechi that summed up the battle between the Big Ten's best big men.

Amaechi, constantly hounded by the Hoosier defense, went 3-for-12 from the floor and saw four of his own shots swatted, two of them by Henderson. Amaechi finished with 11 points and nine rebounds.

"We didn't really try to focus what we did on Amaechi," Knight said. "We tried to play Amaechi as hard as we could with one guy."

Whether that one guy was lanky center Todd Lindeman, burly forward Andrae Patterson or Henderson -- or the occasional combination of two or three of them at once -- Amaechi was handcuffed.

"It's one of those days I didn't put the ball in the hole," Amaechi said.

Although the game was over moments into the second half, it was an intriguing contest for most of the first. Indiana scored the first two baskets and didn't trail until 13:40 remained in the half, when Lion point guard Dan Earl hit a three to give Penn State a 12-10 edge.

The Lions got the lead as high as five, 22-17, after swingman Greg Bartram took a Hoosier turnover near midcourt and threw down a two-handed dunk at the 8:46 mark. Amaechi hit a pair of free throws with 3:46 left to give Penn State its last lead, 28-27.

Amaechi was joined by Lisicky and forward Glenn Sekunda with 11 points apiece, while Henderson was helped by forward Brian Evans' 13 and guard Michael Hermon's 10. As a team, Indiana shot 47.5 percent from the floor and grabbed 41 rebounds, while Penn State shot a collective 37.9 percent and pulled down 33 boards.