Jan. 29, 2011
Penn State 56, 15 Wisconsin 52 Bryce Jordan Center University Park, Pa. | |
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| 1st | 2nd | Final | Wisconsin (15-5 5-3) | 29 | 23 | 52 | Penn State (12-8, 5-4) | 20 | 36 | 56 | | | | Stats at a Glance | WIS | PSU | FG Percentage | .423 | .475 | 3-Point FG Percentage | .300 | .353 | FT Percentage | .667 | .600 | Offensive Rebounds | 7 | 8 | Defensive Rebounds | 18 | 21 | Total Rebounds | 25 | 29 | Turnovers | 8 | 10 | Points off Turnovers | 11 | 8 | 2nd Half FG Percentage | 9-28 | 12-19 | | |
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Box Score | Box Score 
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- All good things, we're often told, must come to an end.
You knew Wisconsin's string of 12 straight wins over Penn State would end eventually, but that doesn't make Saturday's loss any more palatable for the Badgers.
Talor Battle scored 20 of his 22 points after halftime and Penn State turned up the defensive pressure in the second half to upset the 15th-ranked Badgers, 56-52, on Saturday at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Senior Jon Leuer had 18 points to lead Wisconsin (15-5, 5-3 Big Ten), with junior Jordan Taylor adding 16 before fouling out in the game's late stages.
Jeff Brooks had 12 points and Andrew Jones grabbed 14 rebounds to the help the Nittany Lions (12-8, 5-4) overcome a 13-point deficit in the first half to beat the Badgers for the first time since 2003.
Fast Facts | Badgers have three-game win streak snapped | Penn State downs UW for first time in 13 games | Leuer and Taylor combine for 34 points for Badgers | |
Shooting loomed large for the Badgers, who hit just 32.1 percent of their shots in the second half - going 9-for-28 from the field.
"Every guy in that locker room knows you've got to hit a couple of those," UW head coach Bo Ryan said. "You've got to nail a couple of them."
Penn State, meanwhile, shot at a 63.2-percent clip over the final 20 minutes - and outscored the Badgers by six points at the free throw line in the second half.
"I thought we had some really good looks," Ryan said. "It was one of those days."
Early on, it looked as though Wisconsin would have little trouble pushing its win streak over Penn State to 13 games. The Badgers raced out to a 22-9 with 7:39 to play in the first half when Taylor drilled a 3-pointer.
Penn State would nip away at the lead, though, using an 11-2 run following Taylor's triple to cut the advantage to four.
A jumper from Leuer and another 3-pointer from Taylor pushed the Badger lead back to 29-20 at the half.
The lead at intermission would ordinarily prove to be a good omen, as UW entered the contest holding a 12-1 record on the year when leading at the break. It didn't seem to deter a Penn State squad that has now won three straight at home over ranked opponents.
The Nittany Lions came out strong in the second stanza, using an 18-6 run over the first 9:09 to take their first lead of the game at 38-35 on a trey by Battle.
The Badgers battled back, though, and eventually reassumed the lead at 42-40 following a Leuer layup with 6:50 to play.
Unfortunately for Wisconsin, that was its last lead of the contest. Battle responded to the Leuer lay-in with a 3-pointer and, on the Nittany Lions' next trip, Brooks hit a trey of his own.
In the span of 32 seconds, a two-point Badgers lead had been transformed into a 46-42 deficit.
Wisconsin close the gap to three points when Keaton Nankivil buried a 3-pointer with seven seconds to play. That made it 55-52 in favor of PSU, and Battle came back to hit the second of two free throws to make it a two-possession game and ice the contest.
Wisconsin returns to action on Tuesday when Purdue visits the Kohl Center. Game time is 6 p.m. and the contest can be seen live on ESPN.