Jan. 7, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA., Jan. 7, 2008 - A career-best equaling three straight double-doubles, seven straight Nittany Lion wins and Penn State's first 2-0 start in the Big Ten since 2004 helped senior forward Geary Claxton (West Haven, Conn.) earn his second Big Ten Player of the Week selection of the year Monday from the Conference office.
The conference weekly accolade was the fourth of Claxton's career tying him with Joe Crispin (1998-2001) for the most ever for a Nittany Lion. Claxton became the fourth Nittany Lion to earn the honor twice in the same season as he was also recognized on Dec. 17. The Connecticut native's double-doubles on the road at Northwestern and Illinois helped the Nittany Lions post consecutive road wins for the first time since 1999 and placed Claxton as just the second player in Penn State history to rank among the top five in career scoring (1,523) and rebounding (745).
Claxton's three straight double-doubles on the week tied him for the league lead with eight on the season and pushed his career total to 25, which leads all active conference players. He ranks second in the conference in scoring (18.6 ppg), rebounding (8.9 rpg) and 20-point games (eight) on the year.
Claxton's big week started Dec. 31 with an impressive 29 points, 10 rebounds, three steals and three blocks on 9-of-12 shooting in an 81-68 route of Lehigh. Claxton made a career-best 3-for-3 from the three-point line in that game. At Northwestern, Claxton played all 40 minutes, logging 18 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and two blocks on 7-of-12 shooting in the 79-68 victory. He wrapped up the week by gutting out an 11-point, 11-rebound performance while playing a team-high 38 minutes in a defensive dogfight at Illinois, which Penn State won 68-64. For the week, Claxton averaged 19 points, 10 boards and shot 54.3 percent from the floor while playing all but four of the 120 minutes in the three contests.
Penn State will put its perfect 8-0 home record, the Lions best home start since 1995-96, on the line Saturday, Jan. 12 when they take on Minnesota at 2:00 p.m. That game will be broadcast in the Big Ten Network.
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 the ticket office at 814-863-6757.