Penn State men’s basketball beats Minnesota in front of sold-out BJC crowd
Penn State basketball defeated Minnesota 83-77 Saturday evening in front of a sold-out crowd at the Bryce Jordan Center for its sixth straight win, pushing its record to 18-5 overall and 8-4 in the Big Ten, tying the Nittany Lions for second in the conference.
Penn State jumped out to a 2-0 lead on the game’s first possession and never looked back.
The Nittany Lions held Minnesota to 9-of-30 shooting from the field in the first half on their way to a 36-22 halftime lead. Senior forward Lamar Stevens did most of the damage for Penn State in the first 20 minutes of action. He scored 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field and 6-of-6 free throw shooting.
His performance fueled a Penn State offense that was without sophomore guard Myreon Jones, the team’s second-leading scorer, due to illness.
Minnesota cut the lead to three late in the second half, but Penn State promptly responded with six straight points to help put the game away and earn its 18th victory.
The Nittany Lions were led by Stevens with his 33 points in the victory. He scored efficiently in the game, with his scoring coming on 21 field goal attempts. More importantly, Stevens received a full minutes load because he stayed out of foul trouble, finishing the game with three fouls. All three fouls came in the second half.
Sophomore center Daniel Oturu led the Golden Gophers with 32 points on 12-of-23 shooting from the field
Penn State and Minnesota finished the season series with a 1-1 split. Both teams won their respective home games in the two matchups.
Player of the game
Lamar Stevens: Stevens was dominant Saturday evening in a game where he had to be. Without Jones in the lineup, the Nittany Lions were without 14.1 points per game in scoring and needed to find someone to replace it. Plenty of players stepped up but none more so than Stevens. His 33 points more than accounted for his usual 16.9 points and Jones’ average. The senior’s performance was similar to his from past seasons, where he’s needed to be an elite scorer. He hasn’t had to do it much this season, but on Saturday he showed he’s more than capable of it when the Nittany Lions need him.
Turning point
Myles Dread extends the lead to nine: Minnesota never got close to the Nittany Lions than three points in the second half, but it took a 6-0 run to make sure the margin didn’t grow tighter. The quick run, which took 54 seconds, was punctuated by a 3-pointer from sophomore guard Myles Dread that turned the nervous energy filling the Bryce Jordan Center into excitement. The shot made the score 77-68 after the Nittany Lions led 71-68 less than a minute earlier. Dread has shot the ball well of late but no shot may have held more value than this one.
Stat of the Game
Penn State leads the game for 39:22: Saturday’s game was closer down the stretch than the Nittany Lions may have liked, but it doesn’t change how dominant they were throughout the action. Penn State took a lead 38 seconds into the game and didn’t relinquish it. They never trailed in the game and essentially led wire-to-wire. It may not have been pretty as the clock wound down in the second half, but Penn State showed what it’s capable of even when it doesn’t have its second-leading scorer available to play.
Quotables
Minnesota head coach Richard Pitino on Penn State’s outlook the rest of the season:
“They know they’re in the NCAA Tournament now. They’re 18-5 (overall), they’re 8-4 (in the conference), they’re playing for a potential Big Ten title.”
Penn State head coach Pat Chambers on his team responding to Minnesota cutting into the lead:
“I thought our guys hung tough when (Minnesota) cut it to three. No bad body language, really good huddles, really sound huddles ... We were able to find a way.”
Up next
Purdue: Penn State will head on the road for its next matchup. The Nittany Lions will take on Purdue at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Indiana. The Boilermakers are 10-2 at home this season and are the No. 14 team in the country according to KenPom’s rankings with a 14-10 record.
The Golden Gophers will have a week off after they head home. They’ll play the Iowa Hawkeyes Feb. 16 in Minneapolis. The Hawkeyes are 16-7 overall and the No. 18 team in the country in KenPom’s rankings.
