Anthony Leal made a go-ahead basket with five seconds remaining to lift No. 6 seed Indiana to a 61-59 win over No. 11 seed Penn State in the second round of the Big Ten tournament Thursday night in Minneapolis.
The score was even at 59-59 when Indiana’s Malik Reneau attempted a driving layup to take the lead. Reneau’s shot bounced off the rim, but Leal swooped in with the offensive rebound and tip-in basket to grab the lead.
Penn State’s Puff Johnson missed a 3-point attempt as the buzzer sounded.
Kel’el Ware finished with 18 points to lead Indiana (19-13), which advanced to play No. 3 seed Nebraska on Friday.
Johnson scored 16 points to pace Penn State (16-17). Zach Hicks added 11 points.
Penn State opened the second half on a 15-4 run. Hicks converted a four-point play with a 3-pointer and a free throw to put the Nittany Lions on top 42-36 with 16:30 remaining.
The Hoosiers responded with a 7-0 run to regain a 43-42 edge with 12:40 to play. Gabe Cupps finished the scoring run with a 3-pointer.
The score remained close the rest of the way. Ware made one of two free-throw attempts to even the score at 57-57 with 2:19 left.
Ware put Indiana on top 59-57 with a dunk with 1:45 to go.
Ace Baldwin Jr. answered for Penn State. His jump shot evened the score at 59-59 with 1:26 remaining.
Indiana led 32-27 at the half.
The Hoosiers raced to a 10-2 lead in the first 5:48. Ware started the scoring with a dunk, and Reneau finished the run with a layup off a pass from Mackenzie Mgbako.
Penn State scored the next eight points to even the score at 10-10 with 11:41 remaining in the half. D’Marco Dunn hit a jump shot to erase the deficit.
Nick Kern Jr. made a layup to pull Penn State within 28-27 with 2:02 to play.
Indiana finished the half with four straight points to grab a five-point lead. Mgbako made a pair of free throws with 1:33 to go, and he drained a jump shot with 31 seconds left before the break.
–Field Level Media
