White scores 27 to lift Iowa

IOWA CITY (AP) ? Iowa struggled to put away the Big Ten?s worst team on its home floor in a game it simply had to win.

The Hawkeyes survived thanks to a career night from Aaron White, a double-double from new starter Melsahn Basabe and a whole bunch of free throws.

White had a career-high 27 points and Iowa beat Penn State 76-67 Thursday night, snapping a two-game losing streak.

Basabe had 10 points and 10 rebounds in his first start of the season for the Hawkeyes (14-7, 3-5 Big Ten), who hit 31 free throws in 39 tries.

Iowa took the lead with an early 14-0 run and never looked back against the last winless team in Big Ten play. The Hawkeyes let Penn State creep back within 69-62 with 1:30 left, but White answered with a three-point play for Iowa.

?We needed it,? White said. ?Not the prettiest game, and didn?t even execute that great. But you know, a win is a win.?

Over the past month, Iowa has played a slate as tough as any team in the country. That?s why the Hawkeyes couldn?t afford to drop this one.

Iowa opened the Big Ten on New Year?s Eve with a narrow loss to No. 3 Indiana and subsequently fell to ranked opponents Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State. A disheartening overtime loss at Purdue last Sunday and an impending road trip to Minnesota and Wisconsin only amped up the urgency for the Hawkeyes.

?It comes to a point where... you need to get a winning streak going. This was a good one for us to start,? White said.

They got off to an awful start, though.

Fortunately for Iowa, it lasted only four minutes.

The Hawkeyes started Basabe and left guard Anthony Clemmons on the bench, only to fall behind 10-3 to a Penn State team that entered play ranked 328th nationally in field goal percentage at 38.9.

Iowa responded with 14 straight points, a surge kick-started by three quick layups from White, for a lead it would not relinquish.

?He played with great energy. I wouldn?t have said we?d have been able to play him 34 minutes,? Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said. ?We just felt like he was affecting the game at both ends.?