It might have been a sign when, with less than two minutes gone from the game clock, Iowa guard Jeff Horner pulled the trigger on a totally uncontested 3-point shot to give the Hawkeyes a very early 7-4 lead.

It might have indicated in the Penn State men's basketball game Saturday, that Iowa -- who came into game second to last in the Big Ten in 3-point shooting -- would take 18 of 27 first-half shots from that range, making nine.

But as the Hawkeyes scored well above their 65.9 average points per game (60.2 away from home) en route to a 80-76 victory, no sign or omen could help the Nittany Lions' zone defense tether Iowa to its averages and walk away victorious.

Iowa's two guards, Jeff Horner and Adam Haluska, did the most damage by scoring 30 of the Hawkeyes' first-half points. They got frequent good looks from beyond the arc, making eight of 13 shots. But it was Haluska alone who did the most damage, making five of seven 3-pointers and scoring 21 for the half.

"He gets 'em off quick, and he shoots over you," DeChellis said. "We didn't do a good job of finding him."

DeChellis said the team focused on finding Haluska and Horner in the days leading up to the game, trying to force Iowa to rely on other perimeter shooters. At least in the first half the preparations didn't seem to work, as Penn State's 2-3 zone couldn't prevent the shooter with a hot hand from having his way.

"When a man is shooting like that, you just have to keep on trying to contest whatever shots he takes," Penn State freshman forward Jamelle Cornley said. "A man getting 21 points in the first half, that's something we need to work on."

Multiple times Lions defenders either were out of position or weren't able to run quickly enough to the perimeter to contest Iowa's 3-point shots. In the defensive possessions when Penn State played man defense, Iowa shooters got cleanly around screens to find more open looks.

"[We were a] step slow sometimes, didn't find him quick enough," DeChellis said. "It was a combination of things. I didn't think we could guard him man-to-man, and we really didn't do a great job of that. We wanted to protect our post, and thought the zone was the way to go."

The Lions did find a way to slow the 3-point attack in the second half, as they limited Haluska to just eight points. Of Iowa's 10 second-half 3-point attempts, only two went in.

Cornley said Iowa expected Penn State to come out in its zone defense in the second half, but made some key stops using man-to-man instead. But he also said the Hawkeyes, who scored 40 points in each period, got some good looks.

There was no doubt Haluska had the hot hand in the first half, but questions linger. Would one defense -- zone or man -- have been better to slow him down? And after slowing him down, was either good enough to stop Iowa from scoring?

"It seemed like they found our weakness on both," senior forward Travis Parker said. "They scored, so, I can't say which one held them to less."

DeChellis said the team was one rebound away from winning the game, which remained close to the end. But a four-minute Iowa run in the first half turned a 20-15 Lions lead into a 35-25 Lions deficit, turning the tables of the game's control. Central to the run were six Iowa 3-point shots, four by Haluska.

"The first half, that killed us the most," Cornley said.

In the end, Parker said the Lions regrouped at halftime and competed the entire second half. He said it was only "some call and some balls" that didn't go the Lions' way in the end.

But after confidence and energy, which Cornley said the team had, carried the team to a close finish, the game ended in Iowa making free throws. And there's no defense for that.