Thursday, Feb. 20, 1997

Cagers drop nail-biter to Badgers

By GEOFF MOSHER
Collegian Sports Writer

Those who think logically would have, by halftime, forseen a Nittany Lion win.

Penn State men's basketball player Ryan Bailey goes for a long basket against Wisconsin. The Lions hosted Wisconsin at the Bryce Jordan Center last night. (Collegian Photo/ Clinton Merchant - click for full size image)

The Nittany Lions were 5-0 this season when leading at the half. Last night, they were up seven at halftime. The last time Penn State held a 14-point lead was late December in a victory over Bradley. Last night, the Lions held a 14-point lead with 16 minutes and two seconds remaining in the game. The last time Lion point guard Ryan Bailey led his team in scoring came in that same Bradley game. Last night, Ryan Bailey led all Lions with 11 points.

To those who think logically -- the optimists -- there was no way Penn State could have fallen to Wisconsin last night. The lesson learned is: When it comes to Penn State basketball, don't be an optimist.

The Lions blew their double-digit lead in a sloppy second half when Wisconsin guard Duany Duany stole Rahsaan Carlton's bad pass to Bailey and dunked home the game-sealing bucket. And the Badgers stole the victory in The Bryce Jordan Center, 49-45.

The pessimists -- who don't always follow logic and rarely look at the bright side -- would have seen the loss in the making. They would have noted Lion guard Pete Lisicky's missed free throw, the first miss in his last 34 straight attempts. The pessimist would have seen that as an omen.

Close loss frustrates cagers

The optimist would say the Lion halftime lead was a telltale sign of a sure win. After all, the Lions hadn't lost when leading at the half. The pessimist would make mention there is always a first time for everything -- like last night was the first time Badger point guard Hennssy Auriantal hit the game-winning layup instead of missing like he did against Providence last season.

"What I thought was going to happen was (Lion center Calvin) Booth was going to get a piece of it," Badger coach Dick Bennett said. "We all had shades of last year up at Providence. We lost by one and he had the same situation and missed the layup and we all had visions of that."

Bennett was a pessimist. But his team prevailed.

With 41.3 seconds, left and the Lions clinging to a one-point lead, nobody boxed out Auriantal on Duany's missed shot. While most were in the midst of running down court, Auriantal grabbed the loose ball and strode through a clear path to the hoop, putting in the go-ahead point. Duany's steal and dunk put the game away and Penn State (9-14, 2-12 Big Ten) fell to Wisconsin (16-7, 9-5) for the second time this season.

"I saw the ball, I thought (Badger forward Sean) Daugherty was going to get it," Auriantal recalled. "I saw it dropping on the floor and I just went and grabbed it and looked and I saw Booth standing in front of me (not) doing anything -- so I just went for it. I didn't care if it was going to go, I just went strong up there."

After Wisconsin took the lead, Lion coach Jerry Dunn opted not to call timeout and let Penn State run the set play. After Duany stole the ball and put the Badgers up three, Dunn let the Lions run the play again. Once Dunn saw the play was broke, he wanted a timeout, but Bailey had already attempted the game-tying three.

"I definitely wasn't hesitant about taking the shot," Bailey said. "The play was designed for Pete (Lisicky), but he wasn't open. I definitely thought it was good."

Just like an optimist would think.