Penn State men’s basketball team came up just short after erasing an early 13-point deficit on Saturday night, falling in the Barclays Center Classic championship game 79-76 to Ole Miss.
And as Penn State head coach Patrick Chambers took the podium following the contest the disappointment was tangible.
“We start out the way we started, we were sleepwalking, we didn’t deserve to win the game today,” Chambers said bluntly.
That is in essence the biggest change in the third year of Chambers’ tenure at Penn State. For years a three-point loss on the road to a talented team would have been a moral victory. Chambers phrases his stance on moral victories differently, but he expects to win games this season.
His team is talented enough and experienced enough, so moral victories are no more. He’ll still pull the positives from any given game, but too many pieces to the puzzle are in place for him to accept slow starts and “almost” victories because that doesn’t build a program.
That attitude was even more apparent when asked about rebounding and how the Nittany Lions “hung” with Ole Miss on the glass. It’s a simple comment, but a glimpse into what Chambers is trying to instill into the program.
“It’s probably just the word you used, but (Hang with) means we’re just trying to survive. We’re not trying to survive, we’re trying to get better, we’re trying to take care of the glass, and they came up with critical rebounds.” Chambers said.
It’s a subtle change, but a significant one. Chambers doesn’t want his players out there hoping they can do enough to win. He wants them out there making plays that lead to victory, instead of hoping for fortunate bounces and mistakes made by their opponents.
On the court, the Nittany Lions opened up the game well but an early offensive barrage from Ole Miss from beyond the arc saw the Rebels take an early 25-15 lead. Penn State would give up seven baskets from three point range and fell behind because of it, despite shooting over 50-percent from the field. Penn State was able to cut the deficit to five with Ole Miss taking a 44-39 lead into halftime.
In the second half both teams would trade baskets and the Nittany Lions would eventually take a 49-48 lead with 17:32 to go in the game. Penn State and Ole Miss would continue to trade blows as the Rebels were able to take a 75-70 lead into the final three minutes of play. The Nittany Lions would battle back to within one at 75-74. Ole Miss star Marshall Henderson was fouled by Penn States’ DJ Newbill while shooting a three sending Henderson to the line for three free throws with 1:14 to play.
Henderson made all three, giving Ole Miss a 78-74 lead. The Rebels would extend the lead to 79-74 and Penn State would get a basket with less than a second to play to finish the game after several missed shots in the games final half minute.
The Nittany Lions shot 47-percent from the field and were led by Newbill’s 23 points. Senior guard Tim Frazier struggled from the field going 3-of-13 for 9 points but dished out 10 assists. Donovon Jack and Brandon Taylor both contributed 8 points and junior forward Ross Travis had a strong 17-point performance.
Penn State falls to 6-2 on the year and will travel to take on a talented Pittsburgh squad this Tuesday.
“We’re a good basketball team,” Chambers said in his brief post game press conference. “But we need to keep working to become a great one.”
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