Penn State basketball beats Nebraska; falls at MSU

UNIVERSITY PARK — On Feb. 25, Penn State narrowly escaped with a nail-biting 56-55 victory over the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Penn State notched its second consecutive win at home and the Nittany Lions improved to 10-3 inside the Bryce Jordan Center.

Starting point guard Shep Garner had a team-leading 22 points in 37 minutes played. Garner shot 50 percent from the field and made five of his 10 3-pointers, scoring 16 of his 22 points in the second half.

Garner’s presence was felt during the entire game, as he scored field goal after field goal and hit timely 3-pointers. With seven seconds left in the second half of the game, he made a game-changing trip to the free throw line after being fouled by Nebraska guard Tai Webster.

Garner made the first of his two attempts, but following his second missed attempt, Nebraska guard Andrew White III hauled in the defensive rebound. Nebraska forward Shavon Shields missed a costly jumper as time expired, though, and that is how the game ended, as Penn State held on by the slimmest of margins.

“I focus on doing well and working hard in practice, and it translates over,” Garner said. “You have to have a great mentality, get better each day, play hard and defend the rebound.”

Penn State head coach Patrick Chambers was pleased with his team’s overall performance and resolve.

“We did a really good job in the first half, we have to continue to work harder, set screens and we have to learn how to put teams away,” Chambers said.

Chambers also praised his sophomore guard. “I was really proud of Shep Garner tonight.”

Nebraska head coach Tim Miles credited Garner and Brandon Taylor’s (19 points) performances as the culprit for his team’s defeat.

“We were getting beat by two guys — Garner and Taylor — which translated into turnovers, and once we got into transition we didn’t have enough at the end,” Miles said.

Commenting on Nebraska’s losing effort, Miles blames his defense for not stopping Penn State’s 3-point shooting parade, led by Taylor and Garner. “We can’t give up 11 3-pointers and expect to win.”

Penn State stumbled in its next outing at Michigan State in an 88-57 loss.