Iowa's guards looked to Matt Gatens' hot hand in second half at Penn State

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Matt Gatens demanded the ball in the second half of Iowa's game against Penn State on Thursday, and that was a good thing for the Hawkeyes.

Gatens, a senior, had missed all five first-half shots but continued to work for open shots in the second half. The result included five consecutive 3-pointers after halftime to close Iowa's deficit from 16 points to two twice late in the game. The Hawkeyes fell short 69-64, but Gatens' second-half effort inspired Coach Fran McCaffery.

“It was an amazing performance by Matt,” McCaffery said. “Very few guys can do that. Once they start going sideways like he was, to come out and hit five … he was really sort of wired at halftime. You could tell he was disappointed in himself and how we played collectively and he was going to affect some change, and he did. And everybody else sort of fed off his performance and his energy level.”

On nearly every trip up the court, Gatens waved from the corner to show he was open. He took contested shots, yet he hit them. By the end of the second half, Gatens was double teamed on virtually every possession.

“When you get in a rhythm like that you want the ball,” Gatens said. “The guys did a great job of finding me. They knew it but it wasn't enough. You've got to play 40 minutes. We played about 15 or 20.”

“He continuously works hard to get open,” McCaffery said. “We did a good job of finding him.”

Iowa's guards also looked for Gatens. All five of his 3-pointers were assisted, including three from Devyn Marble. Marble, who finished with six assists and 13 points while playing all 40 minutes, said the team was consciously trying to get the ball to Gatens.

“He got hot in the second half; the first half he couldn't really hit anything,” Marble said. “So him getting hot in the second half really helped us out and get back into the game. We were trying to feed the hot hand.”

Iowa (13-13, 5-8 Big Ten) plays host to Indiana on Sunday.