They could've packed it in when forward Daren Tielsch was called for a five-second violation.

They could've given up when forward Tyler Smith blew a wide open fast break layup.

They could've realized it wasn't their day when guard Brandon Watkins passed the ball off Smith's back and into Michigan State forward Adam Wolfe's hands.

However, down 20-2 to a Michigan State team that even in a down year is solid, the Penn State men's basketball team decided not to go quietly.

Though the deficit was worse than the Lions are used to, they've had a lot of experiences with being behind this season and they have made a few comebacks.

Against Wisconsin, they were down 10 before coming back for a victory.

They were down by double digits against both Michigan and California before bringing both games back within a possession.

"We've been down early before, I don't know if we've been down this much. A 20-2 run is pretty ridiculous," Smith said.

"But we do realize it's a long game. There are so many different runs that happen in the course of a game.

"There's no reason to get all frantic early in the game even if you do get down early."

After a timeout with 13:01 left in the first half, the Nittany Lions went on a 21-7 run to cut the deficit to 27-23.

"He (coach Jerry Dunn) just told us (in the timeout) that if we don't want to play he's going to sit all five of us down, and he was going to put someone in there that was going to put in some effort," junior point guard Brandon Watkins said.

"When we decided we wanted to stop the bleeding, we came back." The Spartans got it together and started to pull away again with a 7-0 run that got the lead back to double digits, but the Lions got an 11-4 run to get within two before a three-pointer by Chris Hill opened the lead to five at the half.

The Spartans increased that lead to seven.

But a 13-4 Lions run gave the a 53-51 lead on a three-point play by Smith, causing a Bryce Jordan Center crowd, that likely expected to be leaving at halftime, to erupt.

The Lions didn't have the ammunition to make a third comeback. After taking the lead with 11:14 left on the clock, they were outscored 26-12 the rest of the way, and made just one field goal in the last five minutes of the game.

The loss still shows the growth the Lions have undergone since early in the season. Against Pittsburgh Dec. 9, the Lions were down 48-19 at halftime and never recovered.

The Lions were still far from satisfied with the comebacks, of course, being that they didn't bring about a victory.

"I think we showed some resilience there," Dunn said.

"I just feel it's extremely important that we play forty minutes, I don't think we can play 30 minutes and beat teams like Michigan State.

"There seems to be that inconsistency there when we come out and get knocked back on our heels, than we wake up and get going."

The Lions know the resilience will keep them in games, but they need more than that to win them.

"It shows there's not a 'say-die' attitude on this team," Smith said.

"There's a lot of heart and a lot of hustle on this team.

"Once you use that you have to keep it up. We certainly used it to the max on that run. Heart and hustle will get you so far, but you have to have some brains with it too."