Hot-shooting Kelly gives Iowa upset win in overtime

March 8, 2009 at 12:00a.m.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Playing with a 101-degree fever, Jake Kelly got hot at just the right time for the struggling Iowa Hawkeyes.

The sophomore guard scored 22 points, handed out a career-high 11 assists and banked in a 3-pointer with 55 seconds left in the second overtime to seal a 75-67 upset of Penn State on Saturday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

“He didn’t have to play,” Iowa coach Todd Lickliter said of Kelly, who came down with a stomach virus Friday morning, missed practice Friday afternoon and left the court early in the second half Saturday and threw up in the tunnel outside the Hawkeyes’ locker room.

“That was a gutsy performance,” Lickliter added. “Really, it was an incredibly gutsy performance by the whole group.”

Playing his final home game and making his first start since early February, senior Cyrus Tate scored 15 points and pulled down 10 rebounds for Iowa (15-16, 5-13 Big Ten), which avenged an earlier loss and spoiled the Nittany Lions’ chances at a No. 2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament.

Talor Battle led Penn State with 26 points and 10 rebounds. He scored 11 in the final 2 minutes of regulation as the Nittany Lions (21-10, 10-8) rallied from nine down to force overtime.

The Hawkeyes led 51-42 with 1:55 left but collapsed down the stretch, just as they did at Penn State, when they coughed up a 13-point lead in the final 8 minutes of a 63-59 loss.

“I was getting scared there when we started turning it over in the press. It was like d j vu,” Kelly said. “But we fought hard and found a way to win.”

The difference was having Tate inside — the 6-foot-8 forward didn’t play in the first matchup because of an injury — and Kelly’s play at the point, where he has settled in nicely since taking over for Jeff Peterson in early February.

In seven games since Peterson went down with a hamstring injury, Kelly has averaged 20.4 points, 6 rebounds and 4.5 assists.

“He has really adjusted and played the point exceptionally well,” Lickliter said. “He’s going to be a great player.”

Stanley Pringle added 15 points and Jamelle Cornley scored 10 for Penn State, which needed the win if it hoped to secure the two seed in next weekend’s conference tournament. The Lions never have been seeded higher than seventh.