Wisconsin beats Penn State on buzzer-beater 3 by Jackson
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Given the amount of time left, Wisconsin's coach Bo Ryan just wanted to advance the ball across midcourt. That his team got a clean look at a game-winner was a pretty good bonus.
Traevon Jackson's buzzer-beating 3-pointer gave the No. 22 Badgers a 63-60 win over Penn State on Sunday in the Bryce Jordan Center and their eighth win in their last nine trips to Happy Valley.
With 3.3 seconds left, Jackson drove nearly the length of the floor before pulling up from the left wing and burying the 3 with a hand in his face. Ryan was ready to take a timeout but didn't have to.
"We can't get a better shot than that on an out-of-bounds play with .6 (seconds) or whatever," Ryan said. "We just did 25-30 of those same (last-second) situations about a week ago. Now, the ball still has to go in. It's a tough shot, but they know the drill."
Jackson led four Badgers in double figures with 15 points and was 3 of 3 from 3-point range. Sam Dekker had 14 points, Ben Brust scored 13 and Jared Berggren added 12 points and 10 rebounds for Wisconsin (21-10, 12-6 Big Ten), which shot 50 percent in the second half.
The Nittany Lions (10-20, 2-16), who were looking for their third win in four games, got 23 points from Jermaine Marshall and 22 from D.J. Newbill.
"We earned the right to win this one," Penn State coach Patrick Chambers said. "That's why this one hurts."
Newbill tied the game with a mid-range jumper with 5.6 seconds left after Wisconsin's Mike Bruesewitz threw an inbounds pass off Brust's hand and out-of-bounds. Penn State's Nick Colella nearly came up with a steal on the ensuing inbounds play but it resulted in a held ball, with the possession arrow to Wisconsin.
Bruesewitz had made two free throws to give the Badgers a 60-56 lead with 33 seconds left. Newbill, who also had five assists and just one turnover, cut the deficit in half with a hesitation layup with 25 seconds left.
Wisconsin looked poised to pull away early, hitting six of its first eight shots and taking a 16-7 lead. But the Nittany Lions, who committed only six turnovers, answered with a 13-2 run and led 25-24 at the half. Marshall and Newbill both had 10 points at the break.
"Nobody hung their heads," Marshall said. "We made a run to get back in the game. I don't think guys are willing to give up on this team.
Penn State led 50-48 when Marshall went to the bench with his fourth personal foul with 6:21 to play. The Nittany Lions managed only two points over the next four minutes.
Notes: Five of Penn State's nine conference home games have been played against Top-25 ranked opponents. ... Wisconsin had the nation's third-toughest schedule, according to Sagarin. Penn State had the nation's fourth-toughest schedule. ... Wisconsin has beaten Penn State in 18 straight games when scoring 60 points or more.
