Indiana beats Penn State with buzzer-beating three-pointer (Video)

The Indiana Hoosiers took down Penn State in exciting fashion on Wednesday night with a buzzer-beating three-pointer.

It might be too early in the conference season to dub any game a “must-win” but that’s exactly what Wednesday night’s game in Happy Valley felt like for the Indiana Hoosiers. Tom Crean’s team started the season 11-2, but had lost four straight games before ending the drought with a win against Rutgers last weekend.

No wins come easy in the Big Ten and that’s what the Hoosiers found out on Wednesday night against a scrappy Penn State team that has been playing solid basketball this season.

Indiana took a seven-point lead at halftime, but from the start, it was clear that this would be an offensive game. It was a shootout until the late stages of the second half and the Hoosiers found themselves knotted up with Penn State, 75-75.

Enter, James Blackmon.

The junior guard has been one of the conference’s top scorers for the past few seasons and this year is no different. He’s a sure-handed offensive threat, averaging over 17 points per game. It’s fitting that his 15th, 16th, and 17th point would come at the buzzer with the game-winning three-point shot.

Prince’s caption on the tweet says it all. The game shouldn’t have needed to come down to a three-pointer to win at the buzzer, but Indiana will take what it can get these days. The Hoosiers are looking to just summon some momentum heading into the meat of the Big Ten schedule.

Penn State’s Shep Garner and Tony Carr were giving the Hoosiers all they could handle, combining for 39 points, but Blackmon finished with 17 along with Robert Johnson and Thomas Bryant.

If things can get turned around and the Hoosiers (13-6, 3-3 Big Ten) can start playing to potential, they could be serious Big Ten title contenders.