Cagers stall in second half, turn over game to Gophers

Penn State men's basketball coach Jerry Dunn said he wasn't able to describe his halftime speech during his team's 90-81 victory over Ohio State Monday, when his Nittany Lions came back from a 15-point deficit to win.

But, he must have sent a copy of it to Minnesota head coach Clem Haskins. The Golden Gophers (12-13, 5-9 Big Ten) did the exact same thing last night when they ended Penn State's (13-10, 6-7) three-game winning streak with a 82-77 comeback win at Williams Arena.

The Lions blew a 15-point halftime lead gradually over the second half and saw their postseason hopes grow a little dimmer.

Penn State looked like it had picked up where it left off against the Buckeyes when it jumped out to a 43-28 lead at the break. The Lions then watched as the Gophers chipped away at their lead, including a 15-0 run in the middle of the second half.

Penn State's ineptness from the field gave Minnesota an opening and the Gophers grabbed it, taking a 63-62 lead with a little more than nine minutes left. The Lions didn't lie down, though, and would battle back to again grab the lead.

- Penn State assistant coach Chuck Swenson

"The last three minutes we were a tired basketball team," said Penn State assistant coach Chuck Swenson on the Penn State Sports Network.

It showed.

During that time, Minnesota took control of the game and grabbed the lead with 1:40 left to play on a pair of Quincy Lewis free throws. Minnesota won the game at the line, going 10 for 15 from the line during the last three minutes of the game.

The Lions handed the game over to the Gophers by turning the ball over on several trips down the floor in the waning minutes. Titus Ivory committed a charge, Joe Crispin fell down, threw the ball out of bounds and double dribbled. All of this coupled with Minnesota's foul shooting equaled a monumental collapse for Penn State. The Lions finished with 25 turnovers, a season high. Crispin was the leading culprit with six.

Lisicky tacked on his third 3-pointer of the night with 20 seconds left to pull the Lions within four but they would get no closer. Lisicky's 11 points moved him into a tie with Tom Hovasse for third place on Penn State's all-time scoring list with 1,459 points.

Penn State looked like a different team from the one that took the floor in the beginning of the game. The Lions dominated the Gophers early, powered by Calvin Booth's 16 first-half points.

"We came out in the first half really ready to play," Swenson said. "Calvin was phenomenal in the first half."

The Gophers adjusted in the second half, though, and shut down Booth with double and triple teams. The defensive pressure forced Booth to go scoreless, although he finished with 10 rebounds and his second double-double of the year.

While Minnesota stopped Booth, it created opportunities for Stephens. His 27 points is a new career high and his 11 rebounds ties his career high.

Penn State dominated the inside game out-rebounding the Gophers 34-29 but it was the perimeter game which killed the Lions. Three of Minnesota's guards finished in double figures. Sam Jacobson had 23 points, Eric Harris finished with 20 and Kevin Clark scored 17.

"It was just a matter of their guards attacking the basket," Swenson said.

This loss coupled with Iowa's 88-69 victory over Purdue drops Penn State to seventh place in the conference. The Lions are in action again Saturday when they play the Boilermakers at The Bryce Jordan Center.