If the regular season is a long preparation for the postseason, then the Nittany Lions were well prepared on Wednesday afternoon.
They knocked off Nebraska 68-65 in the first round of the Big Ten tournament.
For Penn State it was a game that had a little bit of everything fans have become used to seeing this season. There were hot streaks, cold streaks, good plays and decisions that were hard to understand. A big Nittany Lion lead evaporated and then suddenly we saw a close game in the final minutes.
The Nittany Lions opened the game hot, hitting six of their first nine shots. Penn State found scoring all across the roster. DJ Newbill led the way but he had help from Shep Garner and Brandon Taylor who both hit big first half threes. For the Cornhuskers it was a one-man show with Terran Petteway carrying the load with 12 quick first half points to keep the game close.
Penn State dominated the defensive end around the rim, blocking nine first half shots and keeping Nebraska from scoring easy, close range baskets. Penn State took a 32-25 lead into the final 3:37 of the half before Nebraska cut it down to 34-29 going into the locker room.
After the break Penn State exploded on the offensive end. DJ Newbill hit back-to-back three pointers to push Penn State out in front even farther. The Nittany Lions led by a 51-35 margin, just five minutes into the second half.
But from there it was cold as the air outside in the Windy City for Penn State’s offense. Penn State went five minutes without a basket as Petteway and Shavon Shields propelled the Cornhuskers back into the game. What once looked like a blowout in the making suddenly turned into a 51-49 Penn State lead with 9:44 to go.
Had it been nearly any other game of the season this would be the part where you could copy and paste in the last second loss.
But Penn State never trailed in the second half. The Nittany Lions made clutch shots, big rebounds and key stops that kept Nebraska from taking back the lead it held only briefly in the early going. The Nittany Lions’ 16 total blocks would set a Big Ten tournament record that was previously only 12 blocks in a game.
Even so, it wasn’t without the usual tight final minutes as Penn State fought off Nebraska. Leading by only a point with just over 35 seconds to play, DJ Newbill missed a floater in the lane and the loose ball that followed resulted in a jump-ball situation in favor of Penn State.
From there Penn State was able to get the ball in bounds — not as easy as it should be for this team — to Geno Thorpe who lived up to his billing as the third best free throw shooter in the conference. Thorpe sank two free throws from the line.
Down by three points, Shields made it the length of the floor in just under the four remaining seconds, but his long shot fell just short giving Penn State its second straight win and at least one more game in the season.
Newbill ended the day with 26 points, complimented by 19 from Garner and an eight point, six rebound evening by Brandon Taylor.
The Nittany Lions move on to the second round of the Big Ten tournament and will face Iowa Thursday afternoon at roughly 2:30. Penn State lost to the Hawkeyes in overtime in this season’s only meeting.
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