Nittany Lions looking to learn from 1st loss

The Penn State men’s basketball team is relying on young players to step into significant or expanded roles this season.

Josh Reaves is starting and logging heavy minutes as a freshman. Redshirt sophomore forward Payton Banks is a first-year starter who played just 8.7 minutes per game last year. Even point guard Shep Garner, a returning starter, is still learning early in his sophomore campaign.

Penn State coach Patrick Chambers said that youth was apparent during the team’s 26-point loss to Duquesne last Friday.

“I just sensed that we have freshmen and sophomores out there, for the first time we were getting punched in the mouth, and they got to learn how to respond,” Chambers said Monday. “We have a lot of young guys.”

The Nittany Lions (2-1) will have a chance to respond in their first game since the loss when they host Radford (3-2) at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Bryce Jordan Center.

The Highlanders boast a season-opening victory over Georgetown and are coming off a win over Prairie View A&M. Like Duquesne, they are led by senior guards: 5-foot-11 guard Rashun Davis (14.6 points per game) and 6-foot-4 guard Cameron Jones (10.6 points per game) are the team’s leading scorers.

Davis scored a career-high 28 points and drilled the game-winning 3-pointer in the final seconds to lift Radford to an 82-80 win over Georgetown in double overtime.

Chambers has watched the film of that game.

Chambers said his team needed to see the film of the Duquesne game.

“Especially the younger guys needed to see it,” Chambers said. “The seniors know. The freshmen and sophomores, they don’t know. They need to see what the difference was in that game.”

Chambers credited the Dukes, who knocked down 17 3-pointers, but he also said his team was a step slow at times defensively Friday.

And the Nittany Lions made other mistakes as Duquesne ran away with the win.

Chambers said his players took quick shots rather than burning the clock to take away some of Duquesne’s momentum. Missed shots didn’t allow Penn State to set up defensively, and youth showed during the Dukes’ 11-point run to end the half.

Freshman forward Davis Zemgulis played the final seven minutes of the first half. Redshirt freshman Isaiah Washington played nine minutes, including the final three-plus minutes after checking in with redshirt sophomore Julian Moore.

Zemgulis tied the game with a pair of free throws with 3:14 to play before the break.

Duquesne responded with back-to-back 3-pointers to start its 11-0 run. Washington missed consecutive 3-pointers, Moore had a layup blocked and Garner missed a jumper.

“We just got to keep getting back up and keep fighting, keep competing and get better and get ourselves ready for the Big Ten,” Chambers said. “That’s what it’s got to be. We got to embrace this process.”

That means Chambers is aiming to be patient and helping his players get comfortable.

Reaves, Banks and Garner are three of the team’s top four leaders in minutes.

Reaves is averaging 6.7 points in 28 minutes per game, Banks is averaging 11.3 points in 31 minutes and Garner is averaging 14.3 points in a team-high 35 minutes per game.

They’re all still developing.

The coach was pleased with his players’ response at practice to the loss.

He said they were angry and disappointed by their performance.

“Not that I’m glad that we went through it, but I am,” Chambers said. “I am. Because it’s great teaching of ‘Hey, this is what’s gonna happen if we play like this.’”

This story was originally published November 23, 2015 at 8:21 PM with the headline "Nittany Lions looking to learn from 1st loss."