Penn State’s men’s basketball team falls short after a 17 point comeback bid in double overtime, losing in the first game of the Charleston Classic to go 2-1 on the season.
The Nittany Lions were led by senior guard DJ Newbill’s 35 points but it wasn’t enough to overcome a slow start and mental errors along the way.
How It Happened:
Penn State was down by as many as 17 in the second half against a hot shooting Charlotte team that hit 57% of its shots in the first half and was nearly perfect from beyond the arc. The Nittany Lions battled back in the second half led by DJ Newbill’s eventual 35 point effort and a John Johnson three in the final seconds to tie the game. Penn State and Charlotte would each score 7 points in the first extra period and a Newbill floater would hit the rim and fall out to send the game into a second overtime.
Charlotte took over the in final 5 minutes of play and would outscore a gassed Nittany Lion squad that had taken so much energy out of the tank to tie the game in the first place.
It Was Over When:
When the second overtime started it was going to take something special for a tired Penn State team to pull off the win. DJ Newbill did his best and Shep Garner joined in on the action but it wasn’t meant to be. A 16-7 second overtime period for Charlotte was too much to overcome and things didn’t go Penn State’s way from the outset as a Brandon Taylor block bounced right to an open Charlotte player under the hoop.
The Nittany Lions had a chance to win it in the first overtime but Newbill’s shot didn’t fall, erasing Penn State’s best chance all night to steal away the win.
Stat Of The Game:
Double overtime games can lead to some weird stats, but the most impressive of all of these numbers was DJ Newbill’s 35 points. That total was the most by a Penn State player since Joe Crispin put up 35 against Iowa on January 6, 2001. From the team perspective Thursday night’s contest was pretty well even. Both teams ended with 46 rebounds, with Penn State making 11 from deep to Charlotte’s 9. Turnovers were 13-15 in favor of Penn State.
A big number though — Charlotte shot 46 free throws to Penn State’s 28. Charlotte made 33 of those attempts, Penn State, 22.
Player Of The Game:
DJ Newbill’s 35 points came thanks to some good shooting and timely makes but Penn State had no answer for Mike Thorne Jr who went 9-of-15 from the field for 23 points. He also pulled down 16 rebounds. Thorne’s 5-of-12 shooting from the free throw line kept Penn State in the game late but his overall performance was outstanding.
Aside from Newbill and Thorne, Braxton Ogbueze’s 26 points on 7-of-11 shooting and 11-of-11 from the stripe would be a strong contender for player of the game honors. Double overtime games tend to inflate stats, but all three players had performances in regulation worth noting.
What We Learned:
There was a lot to digest from Penn State’s loss on Thursday night which means this section is going to be separated into two parts. The good and the bad.
The Good:
- Brandon Taylor seems to be capable of scoring from a lot of different places on the floor and score with relative consistency. Six-of-15 shooting for 19 points with 9 rebounds and a block is a solid outing on any night. Penn State doesn’t need to have Taylor go for 20 and 10, but if he can give Penn State a consistent option that will go a long way. He had at least two good passes that the receivers didn’t handle as well, a sign of good court vision moving forward.
- Penn State is still the never-say-die team it has always been under Pat Chambers. Down 17 at one point the Nittany Lions kept plugging away. Getting into single digits and seeing the lead expand, getting back into single digits and waiting for the bounces and rebounds on defense. Double overtime games can go a lot of different ways, but Penn State never makes it that far if they don’t continue to fight down 17. That may not have equaled a win on Thursday but it will equal a win somewhere down the road.
- DJ Newbill can be the scorer Penn State needs him to be. He shouldn’t be shooting it over 30 times a game, but he can get you the shot you need. He is sure of himself, maybe to a fault at times, but overall Newbill carried the Nittany Lions in a way few have in recent years.
- After turning the ball over more than you would like in the opening two games of the season Penn State only coughed it up 13 times all night.
- Geno Thorpe and Shep Garner both found ways to contribute. Thorpe on the defensive end and 9-of-10 from the line while Garner drove to the basket and was a perfect 7-of-7 from the line, playing with much more confidence in the second half and overtime.
The Bad
- Ross Travis hasn’t had a good start to his senior season and while 6 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists on 3-of-7 shooting wasn’t a bad night, but he wasn’t as much of a factor close to the basket as he could have been. Had those misses come from midrange it would have been one thing, but in a comeback effort Penn State can’t have a senior player missing short layups in traffic. He has the skills in a lot of areas to help Penn State out but he hasn’t been overly impressive.
- Penn State started slow again on Thursday and played catchup the rest of the way. Penn State looked tentative early and Garner looked a little unsure of himself in the first half against his toughest competition yet.
- Decision making: Penn State had back-to-back possessions late in regulation that ended with quick three point attempts with defense nearby. Both possessions came after good defensive stops and if converted would have cut it to a one possession game. Instead Charlotte would push the lead back to double digits. John Johnson also settled for a few poorly timed shots from deep and had he not made the game tying shot in the final seconds a 3 foul, 3 turnover, 0 made shots night wouldn’t have been a performance to remember.
- Foul trouble in the paint would hurt Penn State for most of the first half and early second half. Charlotte would end up fouling out more players in more crucial moments of the game. Charlotte shooting 46 free throws is a big advantage no matter the end result. Good calls and bad calls played a part in it all, but at the end of the day you have to find a way to defend without fouling.
- Pat Chambers’ preferred type of big man might be the long athletic type, but Donovon Jack and Jordan Dickerson were both abused down low in the paint on Thursday night. Dickerson especially has the body of a 7-footer but didn’t do much to get in the way of Charlotte’s barrage of attackers in the paint. Of all the issues Penn State had during the loss this could end up being the hardest one to fix and maybe the most important.
Overall: Penn State played in a way that confirmed everything fans suspected about this team. They struggle in the paint, their young players will take some time to get going, and DJ Newbill can mask some issues but he can’t do it all himself. There was a lot of good to be had, but the issues were noticeable and not entirely unexpected at this juncture. How much Penn State is able to improve will largely dictate the rest of the season.
What’s Next: Penn State will need all the rest it can get but the Nittany Lions are back in action Friday against Cornell or South Carolina at a time to be determined later.
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