Cagers get revenge against Wisconsin

The ball was in the hands of the guy who had just broken his own record and made 39 straight free throws. The ball was in the hands of the guy who ranked first in the conference and third in the country in free throw percentage. The ball was in the hands of the guy every Penn State fan wanted it to be in. He hadn't missed from the charity stripe since Jan. 3, in a game against Michigan -- until now.

Penn State senior Pete Lisicky missed two free throws late in Saturday's 75-69 Penn State (12-9, 5-6 Big Ten) win over Wisconsin (10-15, 3-10). Suddenly the air of confidence evident in the more than 11,500 fans in The Bryce Jordan Center turned to nervousness.

Especially when Wisconsin guard Sean Mason followed with a 3-pointer to cut the lead to just three, 70-67, with 40 seconds showing on the clock. Mason finished with a game-high 30 points -- a Jordan Center men's basketball record.

Lion center Calvin Booth was next to nearly cost the Lions when he missed his two attempts with :22 remaining.

Luckily for Penn State, Titus Ivory made his presence known.

The freshman got a hand on the ball after the second missed free throw by Booth and knocked it out of bounds off the body of Mason giving the Lions possession. Ivory was quickly fouled and sank his two attempts from the line sealing the victory for Penn State.

"I think it's a case of our younger guys showing they're not afraid to try and make plays and they're not afraid to get things done," Penn State coach Jerry Dunn said. "For the upperclassmen I thought the concentration could have been better at the line than what it was."

On Jan. 14, Penn State was blown out, 76-57, on national television by the Badgers in the final game ever played at the Field House in Madison. Exactly one month later the Lions turned the tables and went after Wisconsin from very beginning.

Was revenge a factor?

"Most definitely," Lion forward Titus Ivory said. "They came out at Wisconsin and blew us out on national television. We used that as motivation. We couldn't let them come into our place and do the same thing."

In a game decided at the free throw line, Penn State made more free throws than Wisconsin attempted. The Lions went to the line 43 times, knocking down 31, while the Badgers hit 19 of 24.

"It was an exciting game," Badger coach Dick Bennett said. "Penn State is vastly improved from the last time we saw them. Any time you go the line 43 times, you'll win that game."

With Penn State up eight with a little more than four minutes left in the game, Lisicky went to the line and made his 34th and 35th consecutive free throws of the season. He broke his own record of 33 straight from the charity stripe he set last season. A couple of late attempts down the stretch pushed the mark to 39 straight.

As time began to dwindle on the Badgers, they were forced to foul. Lisicky was sent to the line at the 1:07 mark of the second-half and knocked down two more free throws to give him 15 total points on the night and Penn State a seven-point lead.

Badger center Sean Daugherty cut the lead to five when he dropped in two of his 17 points. Booth made it a six-point game when he made one of two from the foul line. The Lions had a chance to ice the game when Lisicky was fouled with :51 remaining. That's when he missed.

After Mason's trey and two free throws from Badger forward Andy Kowske, the Lions' lead was down to two.

Ivory chipped in with his late free throws and Penn State forward Jarrett Stephens added two of his 15 points to close out the contest.

After leading by as many as 15 at one point in the second-half Penn State suffered a few mental breakdowns, but Dunn cited the underclassmen for their play late in the game.

"They're going to make some mistakes but you got to live with it," he said. "I think for the most part they're going to do more good than bad."

The Lions, now 9-1 at home this season, will try to win their third straight game at 8 p.m. tonight when they face Ohio State at the center.