Penn State men's basketball coach Ed DeChellis got the type of gritty performance necessary to win on the road, but Marlon Smith's career-high 26 points still left the Nittany Lions a little short in a 71-64 defeat last night at Ohio State.

The Lions got off to slow starts in both halves, falling behind 10-0 to start the game, and were victims of a 12-4 run at the onset of the second half. Tony Stockman, a non-factor in the first matchup at the Bryce Jordan Center, was the catalyst as he scored the game's first 10 points. He followed the lead of many other Big Ten guards that have been knocking down shots against the Lions' defense, finishing with a season-high 25 points on 7-for-13 shooting from behind the arc. Stockman led a 9-for-20 three-point effort for the Buckeyes, the same Buckeyes that went 0-for-13 from three at Penn State.

"We didn't do a very good job [guarding the outside shot], and I have no answers for that," DeChellis said on the Penn State Sports Network. "We had to find Stockman and didn't do it."

Despite Stockman's incredible start, he was eventually overshadowed individually by Smith and his 6-for-8 effort from three-point land. Smith, who played all 40 minutes, kept the Lions in the game early and then brought them back late when it looked like Ohio State would run away with the game like so many other teams have in the second half. The Lions trailed by 16 at one point and closed it to nine points at 56-47. The lead ballooned again to 61-47 on a Stockman three-pointer, but that's when Smith started a furious late rally. He scored 11 points on a 17-6 Penn State run, including three three-point buckets.

"I felt I was in rhythm after the first two or three shots," Smith said. "I saw Stockman hit a couple and I had to hit and come right back."

The Lions looked like they might get a chance to tie it when they sent J.J. Sullinger, a 50 percent foul shooter, to the foul line but he calmly sank both shots to cap his 16-point game.

Despite the loss, it was the moxie that the Lions showed on the road in the Big Ten for the first time this season that gives the team hope. The team lost the second half by at least 15 points in their last five Big Ten road games, but won the second half by one point last night.

"We were down by 16, and I could kind of see it in the guys' eyes that they wanted to come back," Smith said.

Smith received some help from his teammates as three other Lions reached double digits. Junior Jan Jagla, who has been rumored to be leaving the team to turn pro in Europe, shot the ball well, chipping in 12 points, including two three-point pointers. Because the Lions lack a true wing player, Jagla was forced to play some perimeter defense late in the game and struggled against the small Buckeyes' guards.

"That was a key right at the end of the game. They went right to the basket and we couldn't contain the ball," DeChellis said.