STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Penn State made one of its 20 3-point tries in a loss at Iowa earlier in the month.

When the Nittany Lions made six of their first 12 from beyond the arc Wednesday, they had a much different game on their hands.

Penn State tied a season-high with 10 3-pointers, which opened things up for a career night from reserve big man Donovon Jack, and the Nittany Lions got it done from the free-throw line to secure a 79-75 win over the fourth-rated Hawkeyes.

The Nittany Lions (13-13, 4-9 Big Ten) got a career-high 19 points from Jack, a senior forward, and 18 apiece from sophomore guard Shep Garner and senior forward Brandon Taylor.

Penn State, which had only three free-throw attempts in the first half, connected on 16 of 19 in the second half, including 16 of its final 18.

"They played for each other," Penn State coach Patrick Chambers said of his players. "They just kept plugging along and never lost their way. They stayed the course."

Iowa (20-6, 11-3) got 28 points from junior guard Peter Jok and 19 from forward Jarrod Uthoff.

The Hawkeyes scored 25 points from the free-throw line (on 35 attempts) but could get no closer than two points in the final five minutes. They beat the Nittany Lions 73-49 on Feb. 3 but trailed for the final 25:07 on Wednesday.

"You have to be respectful of every team in this league," Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said. "We beat them pretty good at our place. They turn around, they beat Indiana and then they beat us. You have to give credit there."

Jok hit a 3-pointer to make it 78-72 with 26 seconds left and made another with seven seconds remaining to cut it to 78-75.

Taylor was fouled and connected on one of two free throws, and the usually sure-handed Hawkeyes committed their 13th turnover of the night to end the game.

Strong shooting by Garner helped push Penn State to a 38-31 halftime advantage.

Garner, who missed his previous 16 3-point attempts over the past three games, had 14 first-half points, connecting on four of five 3-point tries. The Nittany Lions, who came into the game last in the Big Ten in 3-point percentage (.289), connected on seven of 14 from behind the arc in the half.

Jok led Iowa with 10 points in the half. The Hawkeyes shot 38 percent from the field and connected on only two of nine 3-point tries.

Penn State used an 18-3 run to pull ahead 36-28 on a layup by freshman guard Josh Reaves. Garner drove the lane and passed to Jack, who dunked the ball just before the halftime buzzer sounded for his eighth and ninth points of the half.

The early threes from Garner helped clear the way for most of Penn State's 28 points in the paint. Jack connected on eight of nine field-goal attempts in the game.

"It helps when you see the first few go in," Jack said. "The basket keeps getting bigger."

The Nittany Lions will now look to find some success on the road in the Big Tenwhen they visit Rutgers on Saturday. They have just one conference victory away from home.

"The one thing we gotta worry about is not getting too high," Taylor said. "We can't just focus on this win because we got another Big Ten team coming."

NOTES: Penn State senior G Devin Foster was not in attendance Wednesday after staying in his native Ohio to be with his newborn daughter, who was born Tuesday night. ... Senior PF Brandon Taylor is the only Penn State player to have scored in double figures in every Big Ten game this season. ... Iowa recorded nine turnovers or fewer in eight of its past 12 games. The Hawkeyes had five turnovers in the first half Wednesday night and finished with 13.