Nittany Lions expect defensive challenge at Duquesne

In the first five minutes against DePaul, Penn State’s defense led to easy offense.

The Blue Demons turned the ball over five times in less than four minutes. Penn State converted two steals and a block into three fast-break layups. And DePaul missed four of its first five shots in that five-minute span.

“If I could bottle up that five minutes of energy and intensity,” Penn State coach Patrick Chambers said after the win Tuesday night, “that’s the goal. That’s Penn State basketball for 40 minutes. And we’ll definitely show our guys that — look at the energy, look at the intensity.”

The Nittany Lions (2-0) are expecting a challenge defensively in their first road game against Duquesne at 7 p.m. Friday at the CONSOL Energy Center. After limiting its first two opponents to under 40 percent shooting, Penn State will face a Dukes team shooting 57.8 percent from the field and averaging 95.5 points in two games.

Duquesne (2-0) has been efficient from 3-point range, knocking down 40.8 percent of its attempts. The Dukes connected on 14 of 29 attempts from beyond the arc in a 95-75 win over New Orleans on Monday. Senior guard Micah Mason, who is shooting 57.1 percent from 3, leads the team in scoring with 21.5 points per game.

“We got to be really disciplined,” Chambers said on his teleconference Thursday. “We got to be able to get to shooters, and we got to somehow get ‘em out of rhythm.”

Going into the season, Chambers expressed concern with his team’s defense.

But in the first two games, the Nittany Lions have gotten the stops they’ve needed. VMI shot 36.7 percent from the field. DePaul shot 37.7 percent.

Against the Blue Demons, Penn State was active in its 2-3 zone from the opening tip.

Josh Reaves deflected two passes in the first five minutes in addition to a steal that turned into a breakaway dunk.

Reaves reached his left hand out to steal a pass by DePaul’s Myke Henry and finished a two-handed slam on the other end less than 90 seconds into the game. Shep Garner got his hand on a pass by DePaul’s Tommy Hamilton and took it in for a layup 30 seconds later.

Reaves, who is tied with Garner with a team-high four steals, said he’s still learning when to gamble on defense.

“During practice, I kind of make some bad decisions,” Reaves said. “But coach always just brings me aside and just talks to me about how I need to just think about what I’m doing before I can do it. And if I can get there, go in the right position, and I’m able to get back and just trust in my teammates.”

Penn State’s 7-foot-1 center Jordan Dickerson also blocked three shots in the first five minutes. His third rejection turned into another breakaway dunk by Reaves.

Dickerson finished with four blocks in 23 minutes.

“I thought Jordan owned the paint,” Chambers said. “I thought he did a phenomenal job in the paint of altering shots.”

But Penn State’s start against DePaul wasn’t perfect.

The Nittany Lions allowed the Blue Demons to grab two offensive rebounds on the first possession of the game. DePaul finished with 11 offensive rebounds, and VMI had 10 offensive rebounds in the opener.

It’s a number Chambers said he wants to see in the single digits.

Notes: Penn State beat Duquesne 64-62 last season. Mason missed a last-second 3-pointer. He was 2 for 9 from the field and 1 for 7 from 3-point range in the loss. … Mason has shot 49.5 percent from 3-point range for his career. … Penn State and Duquesne have met each of the last five seasons. The Nittany Lions are 4-1 in that span.

This story was originally published November 19, 2015 at 9:51 PM with the headline "Nittany Lions expect defensive challenge at Duquesne."