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MINNEAPOLIS -- Anthony Leal put back a missed jumper by Malik Reneau with seven seconds left to give short-handed and sixth-seeded Indiana to a 61-59 win over No. 11 seed Penn State in the second round of the Big Ten Conference Tournament on Thursday night.
Indiana was without guard Trey Galloway, who injured his knee during pregame warmups before Sunday's regular-season finale with Michigan State.
The Hoosiers advance to face third-seeded Nebraska in the quarterfinals today. The Cornhuskers received a double bye in the tournament, the first ever in program history. The Cornhuskers defeated Indiana twice during the regular season.
Puff Johnson gave Penn State the lead with 2:38 left on a pair of free throws to make it 57-56, but Kel'el Ware hit the first of two free throws to tie the game for Indiana, then put the Hoosiers in front with a dunk off a pass from Reneau with 1:45 left. Ace Baldwin Jr. tied the game with a jumper 20 seconds later.
Both teams missed 3-point attempts in the final minute. Indiana worked the clock before Reneau drove into the paint for a jumper, but the ball caromed off the side of the rim and Leal grabbed it and scored. Johnson launched an open three for the Nittany Lions, but the shot wouldn't fall and the Hoosiers rebounded to end the game.
Ware turned in a double-double to lead Indiana (19-13), putting up 18 points and grabbing 14 rebounds while blocking three shots. Reneau finished with 12 points and eight boards and Mackenzie Mgbako added 11 points. Leal came off the Indiana bench to score eight points and grab four boards.
Johnson finished with 16 points to lead Penn State (16-17). Zach Hicks added 11 points.
Penn State defeated Indiana twice during the regular season.
The Nittany Lions struggled from the field, hitting on just 16 of 58 shots. Leading scorer Baldwin Jr. was hounded by the Indiana defensive effort all night long. He was held to just nine points on a 3-for-15 shooting performance. Big man Qudus Wahab, who fouled out late in the game, was 0-for-8 from the field.
PENN ST. (16-17): Hicks 3-7 2-2 11, Wahab 0-8 4-5 4, Baldwin 3-15 3-4 9, Kern 3-7 0-2 8, P.Johnson 4-11 7-7 16, Dunn 2-5 4-4 9, Lilley 1-2 0-0 2, O'Boyle 0-2 0-0 0, Mitchell 0-0 0-0 0, Brown 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 16-58 20-24 59.
INDIANA (19-13): Mgbako 4-15 3-4 11, Reneau 4-12 4-4 12, Ware 7-14 4-6 18, Cupps 2-4 0-0 6, X.Johnson 2-5 0-0 4, Leal 2-4 3-4 8, Walker 1-2 0-0 2, Sparks 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-56 14-18 61.
Halftime_Indiana 32-27. 3-Point Goals_Penn St. 7-27 (Hicks 3-7, Kern 2-2, Dunn 1-2, P.Johnson 1-6, Brown 0-1, O'Boyle 0-2, Baldwin 0-7), Indiana 3-12 (Cupps 2-3, Leal 1-1, Ware 0-1, X.Johnson 0-2, Mgbako 0-5). Fouled Out_Wahab, Kern. Rebounds_Penn St. 35 (Wahab 9), Indiana 39 (Ware 14). Assists_Penn St. 11 (Baldwin 6), Indiana 13 (X.Johnson 5). Total Fouls_Penn St. 20, Indiana 20.