Star freshman Romeo Langford scored 17 points to lead Indiana to a 64-62 Big Ten Conference win over host Penn State on Tuesday night.
Penn State also got a strong performance by a freshman as 6-foot-2 guard Rasir Bolton scored nine of his team-high 17 points in the final four minutes of the second half.
However, Bolton missed a layup with two seconds left that would've tied the score and likely sent the game to overtime.
Langford, a 6-6 guard considered the top NBA prospect in the Big Ten, made 6 of 13 shots from the floor, including 2 of 5 on 3-pointers. The former McDonald's All-American Mr. Indiana Basketball also added six rebounds.
Indiana (7-2, 2-0) won its fourth straight game against Penn State. The Hoosiers lead 37-11 in their series against the Nittany Lions.
The Hoosiers also were boosted by Rob Phinisee (12 points), Aljami Durham (12 points) and Juwan Morgan (10 points).
Penn State (4-4, 0-2), which won the NIT championship last season but has not made the NCAA Tournament since 2011, was also helped by 6-8 junior forward Lamar Stevens (12 points, 10 rebounds).
Freshman guard Myles Dread, the reigning Washington D.C. Gatorade Player of the Year, also added 12 points for Penn State.
Penn State took a 9-0 lead as Indiana needed nearly six minutes before scoring a point. De'Ron Davis ended the drought by hitting a jumper with 14:29 left in the first half.
Indiana took its first lead with 8:55 left in the first half as a Langford layup gave the Hoosiers a 12-10 lead.
There were six more lead changes in the first half before the Hoosiers went into the break with a 34-30 lead.
Indiana raced to a seemingly secure 63-52 lead with 3:58 left in the second half. But Penn State put together an 8-0 run, including seven points by Bolton.
However, Durham hit a free throw with 29 seconds left to extend Indiana's lead to 64-60. Bolton kept PSU in the game with a layup eight seconds later.
Indiana's Evan Fitzner missed a free throw to give Penn State one final chance, but Bolton's missed layup doomed the Nittany Lions.
--Field Level Media
Indiana | Penn St. | |
Romeo Langford 17 | Scoring | Rasir Bolton 17 |
Rob Phinisee 5 | Assists | Josh Reaves 3 |
Justin Smith 9 | Rebounds | Lamar Stevens 10 |
Aljami Durham 4 | Free Throws Made | Rasir Bolton 3 |
Justin Smith 2 | Steals | Josh Reaves 5 |
Evan Fitzner 1 | Blocks | Josh Reaves 2 |