Penn State basketball put together a 40 minute effort on Saturday afternoon that finally showcased the team head coach Pat Chambers has said he sees on his roster.
The Nittany Lions steamrolled Rutgers 79-51 for their first Big Ten win of the season and 13th of the year. The win improves Penn State’s record to 13-7 on the year.
The formula to victory was the same it has always been, but Saturday it came together: Make open shots, rebound and play defense.
And that’s what the Nittany Lions did. Where they failed to make shots against Rutgers on the road only a few weeks ago Penn State blitzed the Scarlet Knights with 7 first half makes from beyond the arc while only attempting 12 in the game’s opening 20 minutes. The Nittany Lions shot 48% from the field en route to a 41 point half.
It was a half that saw two Nittany Lions break into double figures with relative ease. DJ Newbill went 4-of-6 from the field for 12 points and Brandon Taylor poured in 13 points thanks to 5-for-8 shooting with a mixture of shots from all around the floor.
The Nittany Lions also got first half contributions from Geno Thorpe and Shep Garner who both scored 5 points respectively while Payton Banks and Donovon Jack both made a shot from outside the arc to add to the offensive efforts.
After trading baskets in the early going, Penn State took a 1 point lead with 10:19 to play in the half and never looked back. The Nittany Lions went on a 25-13 run to blow open the game and take a 41-28 lead into the break.
But Penn State basketball — as something of a tradition — has taken large leads only to see them disappear.
That didn’t happen on Saturday though. The Nittany Lions opened the second half on a 9-0 run thanks to two three pointers and then a three-point play by DJ Newbill. That extended the Nittany Lions lead to 22 points only two minutes into the second half.
From there Rutgers never got closer than 19 points. Penn State answered each Rutgers’ make with one of its own. It was an 18 assist outing that exemplified how good an offense can look when the shots finally fall. In previous games those same shots have rimmed out at the wrong moments at nearly every turn.
“I just felt like the last four games we were so close,” Chambers said after the game. “I didn’t think we played great against Michigan, but I thought at Indiana I saw some really good signs. Purdue obviously. Michigan State I thought we were really close to getting to 40 minutes and we finally got there today.”
“That’s why I kept coaching to the very end because I’m trying to form the best habits that we can have to help us be successful in this league and I think that’s what’s important. I wanted to win the second half. I didn’t tell them that exactly, but more ‘win the next possession, win the next possession’ and we put enough possessions together to win.”
The Nittany Lions led the game by as many as 31 as Penn State continued to pour it on. Newbill ended the day with 23 points. Brandon Taylor and Shep Garner put together 16 and 13 point outings respectively. Three different players had four or more assists. It was a total team effort for a big team win.
On the defensive end Penn State made good on its trademark hustle, forcing 16 turnovers while coughing up the ball only 9 times.
All in all, it was a clinic on what Penn State basketball hopes to be.
And for at least one afternoon it all worked to perfection.
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