May blocks Penn State in Iowa victory

IOWA CITY - Iowa freshman Eric May gave up an offensive possession on one of the worst passes in his 19-year-old lifetime. So he atoned for it with outstanding hustle.

With Iowa trailing by five points late in the first half, May's pass went straight to Penn State's Bill Edwards at the top of the key. Edwards streaked down the court for a seemingly easy layup. Instead May raced back, blasted the ball from Edwards' hand and shifted the game's momentum. May's play spurred Iowa in a 67-64 Iowa win Saturday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

“I just had to get back and make up for that,” said May, a Dubuque native. “If you're going to give up a turnover, you might as well finish with that and just try to get the ball back for your team.”

“He didn't give up on the play,” said Iowa sophomore Aaron Fuller, who scored a team-high 20 points. “He didn't just give up two points; he hustled, blocked it and we came down and scored. It was a great momentum changer for us.”

Iowa Coach Todd Lickliter raved about May's athletic ability to make the block but was more impressed with his effort after the turnover.

“He didn't feel sorry for himself,” Lickliter said. “He didn't stop, but he continued to play and that's huge.

“After Eric made the play, we turned around, gave it to Aaron, and he scored so the turnaround just on Eric's effort and talent was amazing.”

Iowa (7-11, 1-4 Big Ten) trailed 22-11 with less than 7 minutes left in the first half. Two minutes later, May's block sent the ball up the court to Fuller, who completed a three-point play after a foul. May hit a 3-pointer on Iowa's next possession to complete a 12-0 run and give the Hawkeyes their first lead.

Iowa finished the first half on a 20-4 run and built a 12-point lead in the second half. Then, Penn State chipped away at Iowa with a healthy dose of guard Talor Battle.

Iowa led 59-50 with 3:55 left. Then Battle took over offensively. Battle, a junior first-team All-Big Ten guard, scored the Nittany Lions' final 17 points and scored 31 in the game. He outscored Iowa 10-2 to cut the Hawkeyes' lead to 61-60 with 25 seconds left.

But Iowa took care of the ball on its last three possessions. Freshman point guard Cully Payne hit two free throws - after missing three straight during Battle's run - to put Iowa up by three points. After another Battle basket, Iowa sophomore Matt Gatens drilled four straight free throws to keep Penn State at bay.

Penn State (8-9, 0-5) tried to smother Gatens with defenders, but eventually Iowa found him on the inbound passes.

“It was a matter of getting the ball first,” Gatens said. “They were double-teaming me and trying to keep me away from the ball but Wink (Devan Bawinkel) did a good job of finding me at the end.”

The win kept Iowa from its first 0-5 league start since 1917. It also gave them a lift in confidence going into Wednesday's game at Michigan State.

“We didn't just win just because they had a bad game,” May said. “ I think they played good. We had a good game as a team.”