The Wisconsin men?s basketball team came up short at Penn State, losing 58-57.The Nittany Lions Deforest Riley converted a three-point play with nine seconds remaining to provide Penn State with the one-point victory.
Wisconsin had a chance to win the game on the final possession, but a Kirk Penney three-point attempt came up short as time expired. The Badgers are now 18-6 on the season and 8-4 in Big Ten competition.
Penn State kept the contest close in a first half that featured five ties and eight lead changes. UW seized its first lead of the game at the 17:10 mark after a Mike Wilkinson slam dunk.
The Badgers maintained the lead until the final seven minutes of the first half when Jan Jagla, who had 11 first half points, made a three-pointer to give the Nittany Lions a 21-19 lead. A Devin Harris three-pointer and a Dave Mader dunk put the Badgers up 24-21 with 4:54 remaining in the half.
Penn State closed out the half on a 7-4 run to go into the break knotted at 28. Penney made three of seven shot attempts to lead the Badgers with eight first-half points.
Wisconsin scored the first four points of the second half, but the Nittany Lions responded with a run of their own. After a Jagla layup, Brandon Watkins scored six straight points to put Penn State up 36-32. PSU held UW scoreless for three and a half minutes and scored the next four points to increase their advantage to 40-32.
After a Freddie Owens free throw at the 14:51 mark, Harris scored five straight points for the Badgers trimming the Penn State lead to 42-38. After a PSU basket, Alando Tucker made a three and followed with a layup to cut the deficit to 44-43.
Down 47-43 midway through the second half, Wisconsin put on the clamps defensively, holding PSU scoreless for nearly an eight-minute span.
After getting into foul trouble early in the first half, Tucker exploded for 12 points in the second stanza to spark a 12-0 Badger rally. Two consecutive Tucker baskets knotted the game at 47 with 8:10 remaining.
Wisconsin regained the lead with 6:32 remaining for the first time since the 17:00 mark on a Penney free throw. The Badgers scored six more points, capped by a Tucker three-point play to make it 55-47.
However, the Nittany Lions responded with a rally of its own. The UW was held scoreless in the final two minutes as the Nittany Lions went on a 9-0 run to end the game.
Brandon Watkins sunk a jumper followed by two straight Sharif Chambliss three-pointers making the score 57-55. Chambliss, a Racine, Wis., native led all scorers with 16 points. Riley drove the lane and was fouled to convert a game-winning three-point play and seal the Penn State victory 58-57.
The Badgers, who were led by Harris? 15 points, were held to 37 percent shooting from the floor.
The Badgers look to rebound at Iowa Saturday for a 3 p.m. tip-off. Wisconsin won the first meeting between the two schools 74-61 on Jan. 22 at the Kohl Center.
–compiled from staff reports
