Penn State men’s basketball drops 2nd straight, despite 29-point performance from Lamar Stevens
Penn State basketball couldn’t get back on track Sunday afternoon when it lost to the Indiana Hoosiers 68-60 at Assembly Hall. The Nittany Lions are now 20-7 overall and 10-6 in the Big Ten.
Indiana jumped on Penn State early in the game and that allowed the Hoosiers to build a big lead. They dominated Penn State in all facets of the game in the first 20 minutes of the game. The Nittany Lions were down by as many as 19 points in the half, but managed to cut the lead to 13 by halftime.
The team’s offense was the primary culprit of its struggles. With Myreon Jones out for his fifth straight game with an unspecified illness, the Nittany Lions didn’t have a second option to create easy offense and it showed in the first half. Penn State made 0-of-6 3-point attempts and couldn’t get many easy looks.
The game began to shift early in the second half when the Penn State offense started to click thanks to senior forward Lamar Stevens. Stevens came out of halftime and scored five of Penn State’s first seven points of the half on his way to becoming the program’s second all-time leading scorer with 2,145 points.
Stevens helped the offense score 36 second-half points, but it wasn’t enough to earn the victory.
The senior forward led the game with 29 points while Indiana’s Aljami Durham led the Hoosiers with 14 points.
The Nittany Lions and Hoosiers split their regular season meetings with each team winning their respective home game.
Player of the game
Lamar Stevens: Penn State’s new second all-time leading scorer carried his team in the game, even if it came in a losing effort. Stevens played arguably his best game of the season in a hostile environment Sunday afternoon. His offense was the only reason the game was close down the stretch. He was the only consistent option the Nittany Lions had throughout the game and was clearly the best player on the floor.
Turning point
Penn State can’t inbound the ball down five: Penn State had the ball down five with 1:06 left in the game with Stevens as the inbound passer. The senior forward was excellent all game, but couldn’t find an open teammate and threw the ball away to Indiana forward Justin Smith. His teammates were unable to escape the Hoosiers’ grasp and it forced him into a difficult spot. That was Penn State’s best chance to bring the game close and it slipped through its grasp.
Stat of the Game
Penn State makes two 3-pointers: The Nittany Lions have relied on their 3-point shooting to generate offense this season but couldn’t do so against the Hoosiers. They made 2-of-14 attempts from beyond the arc in a game where they desperately needed offense from someone without the last name Stevens. Penn State’s lack of shooting from deep kept it from completing its comeback attempt in the waning moments of the game.
Quotable
Penn State head coach Pat Chambers on Lamar Stevens and his team’s performance:
“Lamar Stevens was great today, but he needs help. We can’t play that way. When we’re successful we’re sharing the basketball and multiple guys get double figures. Man, did he put us on his back ... I’m proud of my team. We didn’t start out well, give Indiana credit, give (Indiana head coach) Archie (Miller) credit. They jumped us early. We came out of halftime and really punched back ... That’s everything you want to see.”
Up next
Rutgers: Penn State will head home for a rematch with the Rutgers Scarlet Knights Wednesday night. The Scarlet Knights started Penn State’s three-game losing streak in early January with a 72-61 win at home. They’re the No. 31 team in the country according to KenPom’s rankings.
Indiana will go on the road to play its in-state rival Thursday night for its next matchup. The Hoosiers will take on the Purdue Boilermakers, the No. 25 team in the country according to KenPom.
This story was originally published February 23, 2020 at 2:58 PM.
