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Tucker, Wisconsin use late run to down Penn State

Feb 8, 2007 - 8:14 AM STATE COLLEGE, Pennsylvania (Ticker) -- Alando Tucker and Wisconsin needed one big run to put their last appearance on the road behind them.

Tucker scored 14 of his 24 points after intermission as the fourth-ranked Badgers used a second-half push to post a 71-58 victory over Penn State in a Big Ten Conference contest.

Improving to 4-1 on the road in conference play, the Badgers (23-2, 9-1 Big Ten) bounced back from their last road contest, when Indiana snapped their 17-game winning streak with a 71-66 victory last Wednesday.

Holding a 34-29 edge at the half, Tucker and Wisconsin saw Penn State close within 42-41 on a pair of free throws by Geary Claxton with 13:09 remaining before they hit the gas.

Tucker completed a pair of three-point plays and scored eight points as the Badgers responded with a 17-6 burst, pulling ahead, 59-47, with 5:57 to play.

"With him being one of the best players in the nation, you wonder when he will take over the game," Penn State forward Jamelle Cornley said of Tucker. "He took over the game at the most important time of the game, (midway through) the second half. He mixed some things up and is very physical in there."

Michael Flowers, who finished 3-of-4 on 3-pointers, hit consecutive shots from the arc during the big run.

"Three-point plays stop the clock and threes give you that extra point and put your pressure on," Badgers coach Bo Ryan said. "When those come in bunches like that, you have to make sure to use the clock. Once you get a lead, it's not a quick one-pass shot. I thought we used the clock very well."

"For 33 minutes, we did a pretty good job, and then the last seven or eight minutes they hit two threes in each corner, and then we took some tough shots," Penn State coach Ed DeChellis said.

The top contender for the Big Ten Player of the Year award, Tucker posted his fourth consecutive 20-point effort, finishing 9-of-19 from the field and grabbing nine rebounds.

Flowers finished with 12 points and Kammron Taylor scored 13 for Wisconsin, which beat Penn State for the seventh time in the last eight meetings.

Cornley scored 20 points on 9-of-16 shooting for the Nittany Lions (10-12, 1-8), who absorbed their eighth straight loss.

Claxton, Penn State's leading scorer at 16.6 points entering, was forced to work hard for his offense by Tucker and Wisconsin, finishing with 13 points on 4-of-13 from the field.

"They got some shots, Cornley and Claxton are so strong and they work angles pretty well," Ryan said. "I thought we did a pretty good job on them, but it was a lot of work and we used a lot of guys."