Steps forward –no matter how big or small– move you toward something and away from where you once were.
And for Penn State basketball, the program took a step forward on Friday night in the form of an 89-82 overtime victory over St John’s at the Barclays Center Classic in Brooklyn, New York. Few games could have required the same amount of guts and determination that Friday night’s classic did. If there was a night to see whether the 2013 edition of Penn State basketball was capable of taking punches and not wilting, it was Friday night.
To describe the game in a traditional sense would do a disservice to what is the biggest non-conference win in Pat Chambers’ career at Penn State.
In general terms the Nittany Lions came out shooting the ball well, as they have all season. An 8-4 lead would eventually grow into a 42-29 lead in the later stages of the half.
St John’s cut the 11 point margin down to 42-35 by halftime. Penn State was riding a 17-point half by guard DJ Newbill coupled with an 8 turnover half by the Red Storm. While St John’s has a roster full of talent and youth, Penn State’s veterans showcased their poise and confidence.
Penn State opened the second half well, continuing to fend off Red Storm runs and eventually extending the lead to 15. Nittany Lion guard Allen Roberts made the score 62-47 with 10:53 to go in the game.
But at the 10:38 mark, Penn State’s de facto leader and leading scorer Tim Frazier picked up his fourth foul. With Frazier benched and out of the game for the immediate future, St John’s mounted an 11-2 run over the next three minutes to cut the score to 67-65 with 3:58 to play in regulation.
From there is was mayhem.
The lead would be tied or change hands six times in those final four minutes of play. That span fell well within the realm of “you had to be there to believe it.”
A mixed crowd of Penn State and St John’s fans at the Barclays Center cheered every dramatic basket as if they could not collectively decide who they were rooting for. It may have been only hours removed from Thanksgiving, but March Madness was alive and kicking inside the NBA’s newest arena.
Back in the game and with Penn State down one with 11 seconds to play Frazier would miss a jumper in traffic as the shot clock expired. JaKarr Sampson would haul in the rebound for St John’s and a foul on Penn State forward Ross Travis sent Sampson to the line to give the Red Storm a three point lead if both free throws were made. Sampson missed the first and would make the second giving St John’s a two point lead with 10 seconds to play.
Only seconds later Frazier leaned into a jumping defender while shooting a three, earning himself a chance to give Penn State a one-point lead from the line. The fifth year senior did his job and Frazier hit all three giving the Nittany Lions a single point cushion.
But once drama injects itself into a game it often does not leave.
And so as Travis tried his best to avoid the contact, the whistle blew anyway, and St John’s headed to the line with two seconds to play and a chance to win the game with two made free throws.
The first missed.
The second did not.
And so after a heave and a prayer by Frazier from half court came up unanswered, Penn State and St John’s headed to overtime. The Nittany Lions playing without Travis, and their best player saddled with four fouls. The Red Storm began OT with new life and the majority of the crowd at their back.
In many respects this made things simple for Penn State. Play defense and get to the line. And the Nittany Lions did just that, holding the Red Storm to 7 points while shooting and making 12 free throws with Frazier getting credit for 10 of those shots. After missing his first three shots from the line, Frazier would go on to convert the next 17 straight. He would finish with 29 on the night, Newbill with 25.
From there it was a celebration for Penn State — a program that continues to fight the perception that basketball can’t be successful alongside a major football program. It took a step forward, maybe not toward guaranteed success but in the very least — for a night — a step away from that stigma. We’ll see how the Nittany Lions perform in conference play, but for Penn State fans there is reason for cautious optimism.
As Chambers, Frazier, and Newbill walked from the post game media session back to their room in the belly of Barclays Center. They traded a laugh and a smile as Frazier and Newbill finally found a moment to truly enjoy the win. It’s hard to describe the intangibles of a good team, but Penn State showed a little bit of what it means to have the “it” factor on Friday night. The factor that separates good teams from many others.
“It’s a great win for our program,” Chambers said.” We have to continue to get better. If we can continue to get better, we’ll be the best team we can be by the end of the year. That has been our focus for three years. It remains our focus. It’s November 29th. We have a long way to go here. The scary thing is these guys can get so much better.”
Penn State improved to 6-1 on the year Friday night and will play for a early season tournament title Saturday. Regardless of the outcome, Penn State’s players and coaches have already scored what is probably the biggest win the program has had in a very long time.
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