Lamar Stevens wasn’t worried, at least not outwardly, but he understands how this whole thing works. You’ve gotta win. Doesn’t matter if you tried real hard or came real close, Stevens has made a career out of coming close to winning.
Now he wants to make a legacy out of getting over the hump.
‘I think you definitely have to want it more as a team…and show it. And I think we did,’ he said. ‘You see Mike [Watkins] out there trying to take charges and guys just diving all over the floor like you could tell that we really wanted to win this game, and I think that’s just needs to be a consistent thing now. You can’t just want to win because you lost three in a row, you got to do it like that every single night.’
For Penn State, a 90-76 victory over No. 21 Ohio State had all the hallmarks of the kind of team these Nittany Lions can be, but hadn’t been for the past three games. They made shots early and often, smothering Ohio State with defense and pulling away with consistent ball movement on offense. Seth Lundy, starting for the second straight game, scored 12 with timely first-half shotmaking, while John Harrar made his second straight start as well, giving Ohio State big man Kaleb Wesson a fight down low.
‘I thought he made life very difficult for for Wesson,’ Coach Patrick Chambers said after the game. ‘John defensively, was outstanding. We actually called some plays for him. He’s playing better in practice he’s playing with more confidence. Out of a timeout we’re going to John, they don’t think we’re going to John, and we did and he really took his time.’
In front of a crowd of nearly 15,000, Penn State did what it has wished for as long as the Bryce Jordan Center has been open: it delivered. The Nittany Lions’ shot 53% from the field, and 47% from beyond the arc. Ohio State had no answer save Wesson’s diverse presence on the floor. By the half Penn State led 42-27, and with five minutes gone by in the second half that lead ballooned to 20.
Stevens was limited on Saturday— four fouls kept him on the bench for more of the game than he was on the court. Even so it was a senior performance of 24 points on 7-of-12 shooting that led Penn State, a thunderous dunk in the game’s final minutes putting a bow on the win.
Lamar Stevens just called game. pic.twitter.com/zTk6wDFEzZ
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) January 18, 2020
Myreon Jones was not far behind, with 20 points to his name, while Myles Dread was perfect from the floor for 10 points including a three the broke a long cold streak. Mike Watkins added two blocks to Penn State’s total of seven and the Nittany Lions flexed all the muscles they know they have.
Of course, like all things in sports, basketball’s quick-paced schedule included, the joys of victory will not last long with a trip to Ann Arbor around the corner.
But Penn State got back on the winning side of things, 3-4 in conference play, 13-5 on the season and very much back in the hunt for all the things they want to achieve.
Were they desperate, in the end it might not matter what they were, because they won.
‘I know this team is unlike other teams (at Penn State),’ Stevens said. ‘I know being here for years, this team is unlike any team that has been here before, so I’m confident that we were going to respond. It was just a matter of time.’
