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From the historic Palestra in Philadelphia, Indiana got a close win against the Nittany Lions of Penn State, the game going final at 77-71 Hoosiers.

It was a tale of three phases of the game really, a closely contested first half, an Indiana dominated start to the second half and a Penn State dominated end to the second half, though IU ended up hanging on despite the PSU comeback.

This comeback featured the Nittany Lions tuning a 16 point deficit into just a two point Hoosier lead with less than a minute remaining, making this one into an instant classic.

Nick Kern Jr. was the leader for Penn State scoring 21 overall and really impressing during the furious PSU run late.

Indiana also had a furious run of its own, opening the action after halftime with a 12-0 stretch that featured Mackenzie Mgbako scoring eight straight.

He was IU's second leading scorer, getting 20, with Oumar Ballo leading the way with 25 in what may have been his best showing all season.

These two really became a dynamic duo in this one, willing Indiana to a win in what was a highly entertaining game from an iconic venue. With that being said, here's how it happened:

This was expected to be a close one early, and it lived up to the billing, as it was all knotted up at 29 when the halftime buzzer sounded, though Oumar Ballo had to be the halftime story.

Ballo scored 14 and grabbed nine rebounds in what was his best first-half performance since Thanksgiving Day against Gonzaga.

He scored eight in the first 10 minutes of the half and kept it going with six more to close it out, making several key baskets to keep IU in it, while also making 4-of-6 free throws, a solid mark for the big man.

Ballo was certainly the main option for the Hoosiers, but it was a more balanced attack for Penn State, as it had eight players score in the half, yet none had more than six.

Ace Baldwin Jr.'s minutes were limited because of foul trouble, which certainly played a factor, but guys like Puff Johnson and Nick Kern Jr. stepped up.

While these two squads had very different offensive halves in terms of who was scoring, it didn't matter, as they were tied at the half, with no team leading by more than four for the entirety of the first period.

IU shot just 11-for-28, not a good number by any means, but with Ballo picking up the slack, it didn't fall behind.

That was also due to Penn State having a poor shooting start, the Nittany Lions going 13-of-29 from the field and 0-for-8 from three, making IU's subpar 2-for-11 mark from three look solid.

After 20 minutes of back-and-forth action, this one was even at 29-29, allowing the second half to decide who would walk away from The Palestra with the win.

After it was all tied up at halftime, Mackenzie Mgbako made sure that wasn’t the case for much longer, as he led the charge during Indiana’s hot start to the second half.

In less than two minutes, Mgbako flipped a tie game into an eight-point lead for the Hoosiers all by himself, as he hit two threes and added a layup to give IU the early advantage.

While it was only three shots, Mgbako’s jumper looked pure, and it was obvious that he was taking charge of the action early after the halftime break.

This 8-0 run turned into a 12-0 run for IU after baskets from Rice and Ballo, giving IU by far its largest lead of the game and firm control less than three minutes after it was dead even.

Now with a double-digit lead, IU would keep it going offensively, as it made four more threes early in the second, giving the Hoosiers a 6-for-8 mark from deep in the first 10 minutes of the final period.

This kept the Indiana lead intact even when Penn State started getting things going offensively, but it can all be traced back to Mgbako and the 12-0 run that gave Indiana a substantial lead in less than three minutes.

This was certainly the difference in this one, while it also showed just how good Mgbako can be when he’s at his best.

While Indiana did get out to a 16-point lead with just over 10 minutes remaining, Penn State stormed back, making it a game with its offense—and Nick Kern Jr., specifically—catching fire.

The Nittany Lions went on separate 6-0 and 7-3 runs to cut the IU lead significantly, preventing the Hoosiers from running away with this one.

Nick Kern Jr. was the difference, as he scored seven points during these runs, totaling 15 in the second half.

While Kern Jr. led the charge, Indiana’s defense was just not keeping up, as it experienced several breakdowns that allowed Penn State back into the game.

The Nittany Lions repeatedly cut the lead as the game got later and later, even trimming it to two with less than a minute remaining.

Penn State just couldn’t hit the big shot, though, as it missed eight threes in the final seconds, allowing the Hoosiers to escape with the win.

While it wasn’t the prettiest of endings for IU, it made 4-of-4 free throws in the final 50 seconds to seal the victory.

The Hoosiers ended the half shooting 15-for-30, an improvement over their first-half numbers, but the difference was in the 3-point shooting, improving from 2-for-11 to 7-for-12 in the second half.

Penn State shot 16-for-34 in the second half and just 3-of-13 from deep, unable to fill it up from long range at all in this one.

When it was all said and done, Indiana weathered the storm and survived the comeback, allowing the Hoosiers to walk away from the historic Palestra with a 12-3 overall and 3-1 conference record.

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