Cagers rebound in second half to defeat Buckeyes

The 9,153 in attendance at The Bryce Jordan Center for the Nittany Lions' game against Ohio State got more bang for their bucks last night.

Not one, but two games were played at The Center, figuratively. The first game, which was actually the first half, was marked by a 15-point margin in favor of the visitors.

The second half, also known as the second game, featured a victorious Lion team. It was a Lion team that began the second half ripping the Buckeyes 17-2. It was a Lion team that outrebounded its opponent 20-13 as opposed to being on the short end in the first half 20-10.

"The obvious thing was that this was two different games," said Buckeye coach Jim O'Brien. "They beat on us more in the second half than we beat on them in the first half. They came out like gangbusters in the second half."

Granted, it's a win for the Lions (13-9, 6-6 Big Ten), but not the prettiest considering the lopsided halves.

"I'm not sure how well we really played in (the second half)," said Lion coach Jerry Dunn. "We made some big plays at both ends of the floor. That's what you have to do when you're down.

"We had some lethargic guys out there in the first half."

The Lions' lethargy began when the Buckeyes (7-18, 0-12) scorched the home team for a 21-6 run to end the half. And that's when Dunn decided to tell his players how he felt about the 15-point halftime deficit.

"Let's just say there was some motivation," Dunn said with a smile. "I'm not sure I can explain it."

Whatever was said, Penn State guard Pete Lisicky got the message.

"He yelled about three quarters of the time," said the senior guard. "Then he talked about X's and O's."

Who knows what speech the Lions paid attention to. The point was that they paid attention.

Lion forward Titus Ivory opened the second half with a 3-pointer that triggered the run.

Penn State eventually took its second lead of the game on two free throws by Lion forward Jarrett Stephens with 11:39 left to go.

Stephens took control after that, scoring eight of his team-high 22 points in the closing minutes of the second half.

"He's so active around the basket," Dunn said. "He's tough to guard. He's struggled at times this year, but his game has elevated."

And what descended once again was the Buckeyes, who have now lost 15 straight games.

"We played well in the first half," O'Brien said. "We assisted on a lot of baskets, but we ran out of gas too many times in the second half."

Which could be due to the fact that Ohio State was playing its third game in five days, but O'Brien sees it as more of a consistency factor.

"We haven't played a full game yet," O'Brien said. "We need to play the entire time."

But Stephens was quick to compliment the Buckeyes on a well-played first half -- a first half the Lions may have taken too lightly.

"We just started playing (in the second half)," Stephens said. "In the first half, we didn't hustle. We were just out there. We had to play like they were playing. We might have taken them for granted."

Whatever the case, Lisicky said the Lions better do something to play both halves if they expect to see more wins at the tail end of the conference schedule that includes Minnesota, Purdue and Michigan.

"We have to worry about the present," he said. "We control our own destiny. When you play hard, you get rewarded. We have to come out and take control."