INDIANAPOLIS - When Talor Battle's half-court heave bounced off the backboard and fell to the floor of Conseco Fieldhouse, the Penn State men's basketball team's season reached an abrupt end.
Despite overcoming a double-digit deficit in the final five minutes, the Nittany Lions (15-16, 7-12 Big Ten) fell to Illinois on Thursday, 64-63, on a Chester Frazier basket with 3.8 seconds to play. Penn State held a brief lead in the waning moments of the game, but its comeback bid was squashed by Illinois' late bucket.
The No. 10-seeded Illini (14-18, 6-13) will move on to face No. 2 Purdue in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals, while the No. 7 Lions will return to State College after an early exit from conference postseason play.
"I can't explain the feeling of what it feels like to lose on that last play," Battle said.
The teams remained close for nearly the entire game. A 3-point shooting exhibition in the first 20 minutes led to a high-scoring halftime score, 39-37, in favor of Illinois. The Illini hit on 6-of-12 attempts from behind the arc, while Penn State shot 5-for-7.
Illinois' work on the glass, led by center Shaun Pruitt's six first half boards, gave it the slight advantage. Guard Trent Meacham paced the team with 11 points in the opening frame and Battle led all scorers with 12.
Frazier, a junior, was charged with guarding Battle. He saw first-hand how dangerous the freshman can be.
"I'm old. He's a young guy, he's quick," Frazier said. "He's going to be a tough player in this league. He has a knack for scoring."
In the beginning of the second half, both offenses stalled. Neither was able to build any significant momentum as Illinois' shooting percentage fell to 38.1 percent and the Lions converted just 25 percent.
But the Illini began to pull ahead at the midpoint of the half. They took advantage of Penn State's offensive miscues and built a 10-point lead with 4:53 remaining. Twenty seconds later, forward Jeff Brooks fouled out and the Lions' future looked bleak.
However, Battle, immediately charged down court, taking the ball all the way to the basket, drawing a foul in the process. His 3-point play set the comeback in motion that was seemingly realized when center Andrew Jones put the Lions ahead with a pair of free throws at the 2:04 mark.
The revival was partly triggered by Penn State's switch to man-to-man defense, which forced the Illini into bad shots.
"We get a nice lead, and Penn State goes man and we just fell flat on our face," Illinois coach Bruce Weber said.
But that was Penn State's last point. In the final two minutes, there was just one basket, which would prove to be fatal for the Lions. When Frazier converted the game-winner, the partisan crowd, dressed mostly in orange, erupted.
Battle tried to catch them off guard by pushing the ball right up the court, but his last-second toss wasn't close. Penn State coach Ed DeChellis thought his team showed guts in fighting back, but will have to wait until next year to see his young team in action again.
"It's been a learning experience for us," DeChellis said. "Some kids grew up and they had to grow up very quickly. I told them I was proud of them."
