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UNIVERSITY PARK -- Chucky Hepburn scored 19 points and Connor Essegian added 18, the two combining for nine of Wisconsin's 11 3-pointers in a 79-74 overtime victory over Penn State on Wednesday night.
After a layup by Max Klesmit gave Wisconsin a 76-72 lead with 44 seconds remaining in overtime, Penn State's Camren Wynter missed a 3-pointer and the Badgers closed out the victory at the free-throw line.
"We played real hard. We didn't always play smart and that is what got us," Penn State coach Micah Shrewsberry said. "We are playing with a lot of juice but we have to do the smart things. A couple of breakdowns that we had we can't have. When we made a mistake they made us pay."
"The 3s by Chucky Hepburn, they are the ones that kill you," Shrewsberry said.
Hepburn made 5 of 9 3-pointers and Essegian 4 of 7 for the Badgers, who were 11 of 24 from 3-point distance. Tyler Wahl had 16 points, eight assists and six rebounds for Wisconsin (14-9, 6-7 Big Ten) and Steven Crowl added 11 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
Jalen Pickett, who earlier this week was named one of 10 finalists for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award, had 17 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for Penn State (14-10, 5-8). Seth Lundy added 14 points, nine rebounds and three steals, making 4 of 8 3-pointers. Camren Wynter scored 15 points and Andrew Funk 10.
With 59 seconds left in regulation and the score tied at 65, Essegian forced a turnover by Wynter. Wisconsin called timeout with 44 seconds remaining, setting up a 3-pointer by Hepburn. Lundy hit a tying 3-pointer with 23 seconds left and Wisconsin played for the last shot but did not score.
"We did a better job of taking away their postups in the second half but we didn't make them work enough," Shrewsberry said. "They caught it wherever they wanted to in the first half. If they catch it deep, there's nothing you can do and that is on our guys. We are giving up too many points at the rim. We have to keep people out of the paint."
In beating Penn State for the fifth consecutive time, Wisconsin swept the season series and handed the Nittany Lions their second home loss in 13 games. Wisconsin had lost seven of nine previous games coming in.
Penn State plays at Maryland this Saturday with tipoff at noon.
WISCONSIN (14-9): Crowl 5-5 1-3 11, Wahl 6-10 4-6 16, Essegian 6-9 2-2 18, Hepburn 6-16 2-4 19, Klesmit 2-5 1-2 5, Gilmore 0-3 2-2 2, Davis 3-5 0-0 8, McGee 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-53 12-19 79.
PENN ST. (14-10): Henn 1-1 0-0 3, Funk 2-7 4-5 10, Pickett 8-19 0-0 17, Wynter 7-13 1-2 15, Lundy 5-9 0-0 14, Dread 2-2 0-0 5, Njie 2-3 0-0 4, Clary 1-2 1-2 3, Johnson 1-2 0-0 2, Mahaffey 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 29-59 7-11 74.
Halftime--Wisconsin 35-29. 3-Point Goals--Wisconsin 11-24 (Hepburn 5-9, Essegian 4-7, Davis 2-3, Wahl 0-1, Gilmore 0-2, Klesmit 0-2), Penn St. 9-23 (Lundy 4-8, Funk 2-6, Dread 1-1, Henn 1-1, Pickett 1-5, Johnson 0-1, Wynter 0-1). Fouled Out--Pickett. Rebounds--Wisconsin 26 (Crowl 8), Penn St. 29 (Lundy 9). Assists--Wisconsin 16 (Wahl 8), Penn St. 13 (Pickett 8). Total Fouls--Wisconsin 16, Penn St. 21.