How It Happened:
For the second straight night Penn State erased a substantial second half deficit.
The Nittany Lions won the game at the buzzer thanks to a poor inbound pass by Cornell and a layup by DJ Newbill as time expired.
Newbill had 26 points following his 35 point effort against Charleston the night before.
The Nittany Lions would start the game slow and see Cornell hit shot after shot en route to an eventual 13 point lead. Penn State would cut into the deficit to go down by only 9 at the break 37-28. The Nittany Lions played a much stronger second half but Cornell kept the lead just out of reach for most of the final 20 minutes of play.
Penn State finally tied the game with just under 5 minutes to go as both teams traded baskets back and forth. Cornell was steady at the free throw line and Penn State would find itself down 4 points with 16 seconds to play.
A Geno Thorpe layup cut into the lead but made free throws would negate the gains as the Nittany Lions looked poised to fall, down 4 with little time remaining. A missed shot and rebound by Penn State would found its way to John Johnson, who for the second night in a row hit a clutch three in the final seconds of regulation. That left the Nittany Lions down 2 with 4 seconds to play.
Cornell, out of timeouts, would heave the ball down the court and the errant pass would be intercepted by freshman Shep Garner who passed the ball ahead to DJ Newbill who in turn beat his man for a game winning lay up as the clock ran out.
Newbill led all scorers with 26 points and was supported by Garner’s 4-of-7 shooting for 10 points, John Johnson’s 6-of-9 shooting for 17 points and and 8 points and 6 rebounds by a foul troubled Brandon Taylor.
Turning Point:
John Johnson’s three-pointer with 4 seconds to play gave Penn State hope and that hope was all the Nittany Lions needed to steal the game.
Player of the Game:
DJ Newbill had maybe an even better performance than his previous night’s 35 point effort. His 26 points on 9-of-16 shooting, 4-of-5 from three, six rebounds and four steals comes less than 24 hours after a game in which he played 50 minutes. It was an incredible showing in a contest where nearly everyone expected Newbill to be tired.
Stat of the Game:
After 7 early turnovers in the first half Penn State ended a close game with only 12 total while creating 9 steals thanks to some tenacious defense.
What’s Next:
Penn State gets Saturday off before finishing up the Charleston Classic against USC on Sunday at 3:30.
