Penn State stuns Ohio State again in Big Ten men’s basketball tournament
Tony Carr was looking to make a play with Penn State trailing by one point and the clock winding down Friday night at Madison Square Garden.
The Penn State guard could have launched a shot, but instead he found Josh Reaves cutting to the rim for a dunk with 3.1 seconds left to lift No. 7-seed Penn State to a 69-68 win over No. 2-seed Ohio State at the Big Ten tournament.
“I was definitely surprised how open he was,” Carr said. “He was wide open, but I guess that’s what happens when it’s a mismatch and you got to pay some extra attention to the ball.”
As 6-foot-2 Ohio State guard Andrew Dakich defended the 6-foot-5 Carr on the perimeter on the play, Buckeyes guard C.J. Jackson watched closely near the foul line. When Carr made his move, dribbling toward the foul line, Reaves snuck behind Williams.
Carr found his teammate, and Reaves finished a two-handed dunk to give the Nittany Lions a 69-68 lead.
“As soon as I did it, I feel like I left my body for a second,” Reaves said. “I was just standing there, just excited. I heard that they called a timeout, so I took advantage of that moment to try to get the crowd into it.”
Carr blocked Jackson’s 3-point attempt at the buzzer to seal the win and send the Nittany Lions to the conference tournament semifinals.
The Nittany Lions trailed 66-62 with less than three minutes to play, but they stayed within striking distance heading into the final minute. After Shep Garner came away with a steal with 16 seconds left, Carr connected with Reaves for the game-winning play.
“I knew he would make the right decision,” Penn State coach Patrick Chambers said of Carr. “That’s why I didn’t call a timeout. Mostly he’s been shooting it. But I knew he would make the right decision.”
Player of the game
Penn State guard Tony Carr: Carr finished with 25 points, six rebounds and five assists to lead the Nittany Lions to victory Friday night. He banked in a 3-pointer to tie the game 60-60 with 4:44 left, and he dropped off an assist for a dunk by Julian Moore to pull the Nittany Lions within 66-64 with 2:09 left. He then made a game-winning play on his assist to Reaves for the dunk in the final seconds.
NCAA tournament chances
Penn State was on the bubble for the NCAA tournament after beating Ohio State 79-56 on Feb. 15.
But the Nittany Lions fell out of projections by ESPN after three straight losses to end the regular season. With three wins this season over the Buckeyes — who are currently ranked No. 13 in the AP Top 25 Poll — do the Nittany Lioons feel like they have a chance to emerge as a bubble team again?
“If we keep winning these basketball games, no doubt,” Garner said. “No doubt. I mean we’re a confident bunch. We know what we can do. Even without the big fella (Mike Watkins, who is out due to injury), we know what we can do.”
Reaves said he was focused on the win and Penn State’s next opponent when asked about the NCAA tournament.
Carr echoed those sentiments.
“I don’t think about that,” Carr said. “I don’t think anybody on the team thinks about that. We just want to stay focused on the task at hand and try to put ourselves in the best position when it’s time for the people who make those choices (to) make those choices.”
Bus trouble
The Nittany Lions had issues on their bus ride to Madison Square Garden on Friday.
Garner said it kept stopping on its way to the arena.
“Our bus just like kept cutting off,” Garner said. “It just kept cutting off.”
Garner said the team arrived about an hour and 15 minutes before the game, adding he got on the court less than an hour before tipoff. But the Nittany Lions were ready to go when they arrived.
“Unbelievable,” Chambers said. “A little fender bender, we’re 1-0 with fender benders. But we’re in New York. What do you expect?”
Up next
Penn State punched its ticket to the Big Ten tournament semifinals. The Nittany Lions will play No. 3-seed Purdue at 4:30 p.m. Saturday. The Boilermakers beat No. 14 seed Rutgers 82-75 in the final game Friday night.
This story was originally published March 2, 2018 at 8:53 PM with the headline "Penn State stuns Ohio State again in Big Ten men’s basketball tournament."