Lions suffer tough road loss against Iowa, 84-74

By CRAIG KACKENMEISTER
Collegian Staff Writer

The Penn State men's basketball team crumbled under pressure last night at Iowa's Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

The Nittany Lions (10-8, 2-6 Big Ten) turned the ball over a season-high 27 times, leading to a 84-74 victory for the No. 16 Hawkeyes (14-3, 5-3). Of the 27 turnovers, 18 were steals.

The Lions outrebounded Iowa 40-39, but the turnovers were the deciding factor down the stretch.

"We didn't take care of the basketball," Penn State coach Jerry Dunn told the Penn State Radio Network. "When you come into a place like this against a team like Iowa, you got to take care of the basketball."

With the win, the Hawkeyes snapped their three-game losing streak.

Iowa had a 13-point lead going into the final four minutes of the game, but the Lions wouldn't give up. Joe Crispin racked up five consecutive points and Tyler Smith went 1-for-2 from the free throw line, cutting the lead to seven.

But the Hawkeyes successfully ate up the clock and sealed the victory at the charity stripe. For the game, Iowa went 28-35 from the free throw line.

Iowa used its depth to wear down the Lions. Point guard Dean Oliver led the Hawkeyes with 17 points. Jess Settles scored 12 and J.R. Koch added 11.

"They just keep coming at you," Dunn said. "They play a lot of players and they try to wear you down."

The Iowa bench flexed its muscles, outscoring the Lions' bench 39-6.

"You have to have help from the bench," Dunn said. "I'm not sure what we've got there. I know consistently we haven't had good bench play. We're playing seven to eight guys for the most part. We just don't have a lot of depth, but that's no excuse."

Three of the five starters for the Lions combined for 58 points. For the second-straight game, Crispin led the team with 27 points by going 10-for-18 from the field, including 5-for-11 from 3-point range.

Crispin has scored 57 points in the last two games.

Point guard Dan Earl added 18 points and eight assists for Penn State, with center Calvin Booth racking up 15 points, eight rebounds and five blocks.

The Lions will now return home for three games, which starts Sunday at 1 p.m. against conference rival Indiana.

"I'm certainly glad to get back in our home facility, but more importantly we have to play strong at home," Dunn said. "There's no one in the league where you can just show up at home."