Indiana’s Ballo Punishes Penn State in Palestra

By Nick Jenkinson/Excel H Sports

      The Indiana Hoosiers first ever visit to the Palestra in Philadelphia was a successful one as they held off the #27 Excel H Sports Ranked Penn State Nittany Lions 77-71 Sunday afternoon before a crowd 6,126 in the Cathedral of College Basketball. Indiana is 12-3 overall and 3-1 in the Big Ten and will host USC on Wednesday Night at 7pm. Penn State is 12-3 overall and 2-2 in the Big Ten and will travel to Illinois on Wednesday Night at 9pm. Indiana has won two in a row against Penn State and leads the all-time series 44-17. Indiana is 2-2 away from home this season and even though this was considered a Neutral Site Game it gives the Hoosiers some momentum going forward that they can win away from home in the Big Ten.

     Oumar Ballo led Indiana with his second straight double-double with 25 points and 13 rebounds. Ballo who started his career at Gonzaga then moving to Arizona and then coming to Bloomington pulled down his 1,000th career rebound Sunday. Ballo has three double doubles on the season. Mackenize Mgbako added 20 points along with 12 points from Luke Goode. Malik Reneau missed the game with a knee injury that he suffered less than a minute into the game against Rutgers last Thursday. It’s unclear how much time Reneau will miss but it is believed that he will be back in a couple weeks. Indiana was finished 25-58 from the field for 44%, 9-23 from the free throw line for 39% and 16-22 from the free throw line for 72%. Indiana pulled down 39 rebounds, dished out 17 assists, 6 steals, 3 blocks, 28 points in the paint, 13 points off turnovers, 3 bench points and committed 14 turnovers.

     Nick Kern scored 21 points off the bench to lead Penn State. Ace Baldwin Jr. added 12 points and Fred Dilone V added 11 points for the Nittany Lions. Penn State went 29-63 from the field for 46%, 3-21 from three-point range for 14% and 10-17 from the free throw line for 58%. Penn State pulled down 33 rebounds, 13 assists, 6 steals, 5 blocks, 52 points in the paint, 28 bench points, 23 points off turnovers and commit 10 turnovers.

      Penn State went inside early and often and scored 48 of their 52 points in the paint before they hit back-to-back three pointers as Penn State cut the Indiana lead 65-61 with 5:50 left in the game. Penn State missed their first 12 shots from beyond the arc. Indiana did not make a field goal for the last three minutes and twenty-one seconds of the game. The Hoosiers closed out the game with four made free throws.

      The game was tied 29-29 at halftime and Indiana started the second half with 12-0 run to lead 41-29 with 17:11 left in the second half and the first eight points of the half from Mackenize Mgbako. Penn State chipped away at lead as they outscored the Hoosiers 32-24 in that stretch to where they got to within four points. Indiana was able to finish the game outscoring Penn State 12-10 even though could not hit shots down the field and were able to hit free throws and get defensive stops. Indiana had nice crowd on hand and when they were up double digits the chants of “Let’s go Hoosiers” broke out. Indiana is now 11-9 in games played in Philadelphia and the first time playing in the Cathedral of College Basketball that has been in existence since January 1, 1927, and the Hoosiers cross two off the bucket list with the win.