The Penn State men's basketball team did not have to say a word in the post-game press conference Saturday night.
The body language and facial expressions of the players said it all.
Seniors Joe Crispin, Titus Ivory and Gyasi Cline-Heard strolled into the media room with a quiet demeanor, far from their usual attitude. Cline-Heard leaned forward and put his head in his arms. When each of the players did speak, their voices were soft and filled with disappointment.
"Yeah, I'm deflated. Can you tell?" Crispin said.
It was hard to blame them, as the Nittany Lions just lost a heartbreaker in overtime to Indiana, 85-78. Penn State had climbed its way back from as much as a 20-point deficit in the second half only to see its hard work turn into a loss.
The game brought back memories of last Wednesday's upset of No. 6 Illinois when the Fighting Illini's Frank Williams hit a three-pointer to tie the game at the end of regulation. This time, it was the Lions' nemesis, Kirk Haston, who did the same thing.
Haston came into the game averaging 21.5 points and 11.5 rebounds per game against Penn State, both personal Big Ten bests. He had no mercy again, scoring a career-high 29 points despite being in foul trouble for much of the game.
The biggest basket came with just three seconds on the clock. Like he had done earlier this season to upset top-ranked Michigan State, Haston hit a desperation shot from behind the arc. His heroics pushed the game into overtime where Indiana went on to win.
"Haston knew he was on my bad side," Hoosier's coach Mike Davis joked. "In the first part of the second half, he gave up five straight points and picked up a couple fouls. But Kirk can shoot the basketball."
Haston's play raised the question of whether or not the Lions should have fouled Indiana before the shot. The foul would send the Hoosiers to the line with two free-throw attempts, making it extremely difficult to overcome the three-point deficit that late in the game.
Penn State coach Jerry Dunn said he did not think that was the right move, and neither did his team. They all agreed that the 20 seconds remaining in regulation was too much time and, during that span, a lot of negatives could have occurred.
"When they have weapons like they have, that's a lot of time," Dunn said.
The fact that the game even came down to a last second shot was almost unthinkable early on. Penn State came out flat, hitting 21 percent from the field and turning the ball over 10 times before the intermission.
Behind the strength of their seniors, the Lions clawed back. Ivory, Crispin and Cline-Heard had 28, 21 and 19 points, respectively. But with just 10 points from everyone else, none from the bench, the potential victory slipped away.
"What do we do?" Ivory asked. "Thank the Lord that we're living and continue to play. I'm not turning my hat over yet. We've been blessed with another chance to play, so we have to regroup."
Penn State has until Wednesday to put the loss behind them. That is when Michigan will pay a visit to The Bryce Jordan Center for an 8 p.m. matchup.
