Once again, the Penn State men's basketball team fell just short of beating a quality Big Ten squad, losing to No. 20 Michigan 71-65 last night in the Bryce Jordan Center.

The Nittany Lions (10-9, 2-6 Big Ten) outplayed Michigan in the half-court game for much of the evening, but could not defend the Wolverines (16-3, 6-2) in transition.

The difference in the game turned out to be Michigan's 23-5 advantage in transition points and the hot shooting hand of Wolverine guard Dion Harris, who sank seven-of-eleven 3-pointers.

"Harris' ability to make seven 3-pointers was obviously the difference offensively for us," Michigan head coach Tommy Amaker said.

"Then [Daniel] Horton's ability to find people -- he was a catalyst for us for a stretch when we had a double digit lead and he was jetting the ball and being so unselfish."

Horton's 12 assists were the most any player has recorded against Penn State this season.

"Those two guards are very good for them and they make a lot of good plays," Penn State head coach Ed DeChellis said.

No play was more crucial than Horton's trey with 58 seconds remaining, putting the Wolverines ahead by six.

Coming off a ball screen, Horton found a sliver of space from which to shoot, just beyond the desperate reach of Penn State guard Mike Walker.

That served as this game's version of the now-familiar dagger to Penn State's heart -- the clutch shot to put the game just out of reach, deflating the spirits, and the record, of the Lions.

"As soon as it left his hands everyone on our team just prayed that it wouldn't go in," Penn State freshman forward Jamelle Cornley said.

"The other teams always get that one shot that buries us and we can't find a break right now... Something always gives."

The Lions grabbed 17 offensive rebounds to Michigan's nine, resulting in a lopsided differential in second chance points (17-2) and points in the paint (34-24) in favor of Penn State.

"I can't say enough about their tenacity on the glass," Amaker said.

Geary Claxton's 17 points led the Lions, while Cornley added 16 of his own, shooting 7-11 from the field.

Cornley gave the Lions a scare in the second half when he went down with a sprained MCL, but returned minutes later.

Penn State committed a season-low eight turnovers. Still, the long rebounds from missed shots seemed to bounce Michigan's way.

Many eventually landed in Horton's hands as the Wolverines raced up the court seeking an open look.

A switch to a 1-3-1 zone on defense helped Michigan stifle Penn State's offensive rhythm, making the Lions uncomfortable at times.

"We really thought they would go with a lot more man," Cornley said. "It made us use some plays that we hadn't worked on that much during practice."

While the Lions shot under 40 percent from the field, Michigan fired at a 51 percent clip, including a lethal 48 percent from beyond the arc a statistic that has haunted the Lions all year.

Harris led all scorers with 23 points on the night, following in the footsteps of Iowa's Adam Haluska and Michigan State's Shannon Brown as the hot shooter the Lions simply could not cover.

For the sparse midweek crowd of 6509, it was just another game the Lions couldn't find a way to win.

"We did all the things except win the game, and that's been the theme with our losses," DeChellis said.