Hoops: Scoring drought dooms Penn State in loss to No. 4 Buckeyes
For the first 26 minutes of Penn State’s encounter with No. 4 Ohio State Thursday night, the baskets came easy.
Jamari Wheeler, not known for his shooting abilities, drilled a trio of first-half 3-pointers. John Harrar went to work in the paint. The Nittany Lions more than matched their free-scoring opponents — they bettered them, holding a seven-point lead with 14:04 to play.
Then, abruptly, the flow stopped.
Penn State did not score for 4:31, and Ohio State broke off a 15-0 run that it used to win, 92-82.
It was the third consecutive loss for the Nittany Lions (7-11, 4-10) whose season has gone off the path after they put themselves in the NCAA Tournament conversation with a solid January showing. For the Buckeyes (18-4, 12-4) , it was a seventh straight victory.
“We’ve had opportunities, but each game is different,” Ferry said. “This is one of the elite teams in the country right now. They made a couple more plays than we did.”
Ultimately, though, it was that run in the middle of the second half that decided the outcome, and Penn State’s offense never quite recovered, making just five field goals for the final 14:04 of the second half.
“I thought we took two shots that were two 15-footers that I felt were quick that maybe weren’t really good shots,” Ferry said. “But we’ve been trying to instill confidence and aggressiveness in these guys because we have not been shooting the ball very well. And, you know, they’re a really good team. There’s always another side of it, guys playing defense, guarding us. I thought they did a good job.”
Harrar, who had nine first half points and has become a reliable scoring option for Penn State with his back to the basket, shot the ball only twice in the second half.
He was limited by foul trouble that Ferry felt contributed to the Nittany Lions’ difficulty down the stretch, but didn’t get the touches he needed to make an impact when he was on the floor.
He said he wasn’t bothered by Penn State’s shot selection during its cold spell, pointing out that the Nittany Lions shot the ball well from 3-point range — which they did. Their 12-28 mark shooting the triple was their most efficient 3-point shooting performance since they shot 47 percent against Ohio State in Columbus on January 27.
However, he did say that attacking the rim a bit more would have been ideal.
“In that situation, we’ve been preaching get to the rim,” Harrar said. “...The best Big Ten teams get to the cup.”
Even with the extended drought and the scoring struggles that followed it, this was one of the more prolific offensive showings Penn State has turned in this season. The 82 points they managed are the most in a regulation Big Ten game for the Nittany Lions.
But they couldn’t get stops at the other end.
Ohio State shot 57 percent from the field and made 11 of their 20 3-pointers. Penn State had no answer for EJ Liddell in the paint, and he came away with a game-high 23 points. Duane Washington chipped in 21 points, which proved to be too much for Penn State to overcome.
“We struggled defending these guys at times,” Ferry said. “EJ Liddell is a fantastic player, he hit some big shots.”
Now facing a three-game losing streak and a 4-10 Big Ten record, Ferry and the Nittany Lions head to Iowa on Sunday, where their task won’t get any easier.
“We’ve got to continue to just keep getting better,” Ferry said. “It’s my job, it’s not the kids, it’s me. I’ve got to figure out how I can get these guys consistent, that we’re...putting a good defense together with a good offense, and we’re just going to keep plugging away at it.”
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