STATE COLLEGE — The crowd roared while Iowa’s opponent surged late in front of friendly fans — a scene all too familiar in recent weeks.

But this time, the Hawkeyes pulled out a close one on the road while facing adversity.

Devyn Marble scored 22 points and went 3 of 4 from the foul line in the game’s waning seconds, and Melsahn Basabe blocked a potential game-tying layup by Jermaine Marshall with 22 seconds left to help Iowa hold off Penn State 74-72 on Thursday night.

“Phenomenally proud. We’ve had a number of tough games that we didn’t close,” Hawkeyes coach Fran McCaffery said. “We didn’t play perfectly down the stretch, but we made enough free throws, made enough plays.”

Iowa (16-9, 5-7 Big Ten) led by at least 10 twice in the game but couldn’t put away the league’s last-place team until late.

Penn State wasted an inspiring effort from lead guard D.J. Newbill, who finished with 26 points on 11-of-20 shooting and eight rebounds. Marshall added 10 assists and finished with 14 points, but went just 3 of 13 from the field.

The Nittany Lions (8-16, 0-12) went 0 for 2 from the field in the last 30 seconds with a chance to tie or take the lead, capped by Basabe’s block of Marshall’s drive to the paint.

Marble was fouled on the ensuing inbounds and hit two foul shots for a four-point lead with 20.9 seconds left.

Penn State had one last chance, down three with 1.5 seconds left and Marshall on the foul line. Marshall hit both shots, but the Nittany Lions whiffed on a chance for a game-tying putback if Marshall had missed at the line.

“We tried to miss the free throw there and we made it. The ones we tried to make we missed,” Penn State coach Patrick Chambers said. “Look, you’ve got to stay positive.”

But it’s the Hawkeyes who can fly back to Iowa City breathing a collective sigh of relief.

Five of Iowa’s seven Big Ten losses have come by four points or less. The Hawkeyes snapped a four-game conference road losing streak, with two of the last three coming in overtime periods, and the other a three-point loss to Minnesota.

They nearly let this one slip away, too.

Instead, Marble and Masabe were able to help Iowa hold on down the frantic stretch for its first win in Happy Valley since 2006.