"Penn State came out to play today,"
Ohio State coach Thad Matta said in a press release on www.BigTen.org. "They knocked us on our heels. At the beginning, it was, 'I can't believe this is happening to us,' and in college basketball, if you feel sorry for yourself you are going to get ran out of the gymnasium."
The Lions dropped their 12th straight en route to one of their worst records in school history. The 23 losses are the most ever suffered by the program.
But that's not to say this youthful group didn't try to change its mark in history. Junior forward Travis Parker led the way for the Lions with a career-high 21 points, and freshman Geary Claxton was not far behind, chipping in 20 to tie his career high.
As a team Penn State shot 48 percent from the floor and 45.5 percent from behind the 3-point line.
"It was a very tough game," Matta said. "I think Penn State deserves a lot of credit. They took us out of what we were trying to do. We came out and didn't have the energy to play in this game. It wasn't a pretty win, but somehow, someway, we found a way to win this basketball game."
With no chance of advancing to a postseason tournament due to self-imposed sanctions, Ohio State came back behind a 27-7 run in the second half. Senior guard Tony Stockman led the charge for the Buckeyes, scoring 25 points and hitting a crucial 3-pointer with under five minutes left to give Ohio State its first lead since the opening minutes.
"If today was going to be my last day, I wanted to enjoy it and have some fun," Stockman said. "I came out aggressive and knocked some shots down."
As for the Lions, they will have a long offseason to look back on the 2004-05 campaign. Penn State ended with its fourth losing season in the last five years and its worst Big Ten record (1-15) since starting Big Ten play in the 1992-93 season.
R E L A T E D L I N K
This link will open in a new browser window.
| 
Send an 
