Penn State’s Jalen Pickett moves to the basket on an Indiana’s defender during an NCAA college basketball game Sunday in State College.
AP photo
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Penn State coach Micah Shrewsberry gives instructions to his players during first half action against Indiana during an NCAA basketball game Sunday in State College.
AP photo
Indiana’s Trayce Jackson-Davis (23) drives to the basket on Penn State’s John Harrar (21) during an NCAA basketball game Sunday in State College.
AP photo
UNIVERSITY PARK — Jalen Pickett scored 15 points and Myles Dread shot 4 of 5 — all from 3-point range — and finished with 12 points to help Penn State beat Indiana 61-58 on Sunday.
Sam Sessoms scored all 10 of his points in the second half for Penn State (6-5, 2-1 Big Ten). Seth Lundy, who went into the game averaging a team-high 14.7 points this season, finished with eight points on 2-of-10 shooting. He grabbed a career-high tying 10 rebounds, two steals and a block with just one turnover in 32 minutes.
Sessoms scored eight points as he and Dread each hit two 3-pointers in an 18-5 spurt that gave Penn State its biggest lead of the game at 51-41 midway through the second half. The Hoosiers answered with nine straight points, holding the Nittany Lions scoreless for nearly 5 minutes, to cut the deficit to a point after Rob Phinisee made back-to-back baskets. Pickett ended the drought when he hit a 3-pointer with 5:32 remaining and Penn State held on from there.
The Nittany Lions, due to health and safety protocols surrounding COVID-19, had not played since falling 84-64 at Michigan State on Dec. 11.
Trayce Jackson-Davis scored 14 of his 20 points in the second half for Indiana (10-3, 1-2). Race Thompson added nine points and 10 rebounds.
Penn State made just 21 of 51 (41%) from the field but hit 11 of 22 from 3-point range against a Hoosiers team that entered allowing its opponents to shoot 28% from behind the arc (No. 25 nationally).
Indiana cut its deficit to a point on three occasions in the final 2 minutes but the Nittany Lions responded each time. Dread’s final 3 gave them a 57-53 lead with 1:50 to go before Lundy and Sessoms each hit a pair of free throws in the final minute.
Phinisee and Jackson-Davis both missed good looks from 3-point range in the final 5 seconds.
The Hoosiers made just 4 of 17 from beyond the arc and were outrebounded 39-29.
John Harrar, who left the game with what appeared to be an ankle injury but returned for the final few minutes, finished with six points and 12 rebounds for Penn State.
Ohio State 87, Nebraska 79
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Freshman Malaki Branham scored 35 points, Jamari Wheeler made two 3-pointers early in overtime and No. 13 Ohio State beat Nebraska 87-79 Sunday night.
Ohio State (9-2, 3-0 Big Ten) hadn’t played since Dec. 11 because of a COVID-19 outbreak in their program. EJ Liddell, who came in averaging 21.6 points per game, was just 2 of 14 for Ohio State.
Bryce McGowens led the Huskers (6-8, 0-3) with 18 points.
Branham had scored in double figures only once prior to Sunday, and his breakout game was well-timed, getting 21 of the Buckeyes’ first 32 points.
Houston 66, Temple 61
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Fabian White Jr. had 15 points and 14 rebounds, and Jamal Shead scored 14 points to lead depleted Houston over Temple.
Houston (12-2, 1-0 American Athletic Conference) had 10 players available and only seven played, which was enough against Temple (7-6, 1-1), but certainly won’t sustain the team through the meat of AAC schedule. Coach Kelvin Sampson was forced to use grad assistants and managers in practice over the last week with so many players out with injuries or in COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
Damian Dunn scored 14 points and Nick Jourdain had 12 for Temple, which made a run at an upset.
Jahlil White buried a 3 that pulled the Owls to 57-54 with 6 minutes left and Jourdain followed with Temple’s 10th 3-pointer to make it 59-57 with 3:53 left in the game.
Michigan State 73, Northwestern 67
EVANSTON, Il. — Gabe Brown scored 20 points, Marcus Bingham Jr. added 13 and Michigan State rallied from a 13-point first-half deficit to beat Northwestern.
Max Christie had 11 points and Joey Hauser added 10 as the Spartans (12-2, 3-0 Big Ten) won their seventh straight.
Pete Nance had 13 points before fouling out and Boo Buie and Chase Audige had 12 points apiece for Northwestern (8-3, 1-1).
The Wildcats led virtually the entire first half, and were up 33-26 at halftime after holding Michigan State to 9-for-27 shooting, including 1 for 10 on 3-pointers, in the first half. The Spartans took a one-point lead in the second half, but went scoreless for nearly four minutes as Northwestern pulled within 65-63 and Brown essentially put the game away with a 3-pointer with 49.1 seconds remaining.