Dec. 17, 2007
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA., Dec. 17, 2007 - Nittany Lion basketball standout Geary Claxton (West Haven, Conn.) has been named the Big Ten Player of the Week by the conference office. It is the third conference weekly honor for the senior on his career, which ties Jarrett Stephens (1996-2000) for the second most ever for a Penn State player behind Joe Crispin's (1998-2001) four selections.
The second leading scorer and third leading rebounder in the Big Ten, Claxton posted his fifth double-double and seventh 20-point game on the season to lead Penn State with 21 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high tying five assists on 10-of-16 shooting in a 61-38 victory over Princeton on Wednesday. He followed that performance with a 13-point and nine-rebound outing on 5-of-7 shooting in a 60-39 victory over Denver on Saturday, despite playing just 19 minutes due to foul trouble. Claxton shot 65 percent (15-23) from the floor for the week.
Claxton's play propelled him up the Penn State career charts as he became the ninth Nittany Lion to post 700 career rebounds and moved into eighth all-time with 708. He needs 26 rebounds to move into the top five of in career rebounding. He also stands sixth all-time with 1,451 career points, just nine shy of passing Tom Hovasse (1,459; 1986-89) for fifth all-time.
This is the first weekly honor for Penn State on the season. Claxton was also honored in 2004 and 2006.
Penn State will next take on Colgate in the Bryce Jordan Center on Sunday, Dec. 23. That game is scheduled for a 2:00 p.m. tip and will be webcast by ESPN360.
Tickets for Nittany Lion basketball can be purchased by visiting the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office, calling 814-865-5555 or by clicking on the ticket link on www.GoPSUsports.com. Penn State offers discounts for groups of 15 or more. Any groups interested in purchasing single-game tickets should contact Justin Weyman in the ticket office at 814-863-6757.