Nov. 18, 2012
Game Notes vs. Akron at Puerto Rico Tip-Off | Watch | Listen |
SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO, NOV. 18, 2012 - Penn State (2-1) will take on Akron (2-2) Sunday in the Nittany Lions final game of the sixth annual Puerto Rico Tip-Off. The game tips off at 1:30 p.m. (ET) and can be seen on the ESPN3 on-line platform or heard live on the Penn State Sports Network with Brian Tripp and Dick Jerardi calling the action live from the Coliseo Ruben Rodriquez in Bayamon, Puerto Rico.
Penn State pulled out a 55-52 overtime victory over Providence on Friday in Bayamon behind team highs of 19 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and four steals from senior All-Big Ten guard Tim Frazier (Houston, Texas). The victory marked Penn State's first overtime win under head coach Patrick Chambers, who is now 3-0 all-time in overtime games on his career, and the Lions first overtime win since a 77-73 victory over George Mason in the first round of the 2009 NIT. That win helped propel the Lions to the 2009 NIT title.
The Zips posted an 82-63 win over UNC Asheville on Friday hitting 12-of-24 from three and 49 percent from the floor. Senior forward Chauncey Gilliam (6-5) hit 5-of-6 from three for 22 points in the game while Bayamon, PR native Alex Abreu had 12 points and nine assists. He is one of two Zip players from Puerto Rico. Akron is 2-2 on the year and is posting 78.5 ppg with four players averaging in double figures led by Abreu's 12.8 ppg. Senior, 7-0 center Zeke Marshall leads the team with 8.8 rebounds per game.
Penn State will return to the Bryce Jordan Center on Friday for a 4:30 p.m. "Black Friday" tip vs. Bucknell. The game will mark the 100th in the series between the two teams. The first game in Penn State men's basketball history occurred in Lewisburg with the Bison taking a 24-4 victory in 1897.
Single game tickets for men's basketball are available by calling 1-800-NITTANY or by visiting GoPSUsports.com/tickets or Ticketmaster. Single-game tickets for Nittany Lion games are $24 for lower bowl seats between the baselines, $18 for the lower bowl behind the baskets and upper level between the baselines and $15 for upper level behind the basket seats for adults and seniors. Youth tickets (18 and under) are $10, while Penn State student tickets (University Park or branch campus) are $5.
PENN STATE (2-1; 0-0 Big Ten) vs. AKRON (2-2; 0-0 MAC)
SUNDAY, NOV. 18, 2012 @ 1:30 P.M. (ET)
COLISEO RUBEN RODRIQUEZ (9,000)
BAYAMON, PUERTO RICO
GAME INFO
TELEVISION: ESPN3: Doug Sherman (p-by-p) & Dino Gaudio (analyst)
RADIO: Penn State Sports Network: Local (1450 AM); Brian Tripp (p-by-p) & Dick Jerardi (analyst)
LIVE STATS:
COACHES:
PENN STATE: Patrick Chambers - 14-21 (2nd at PSU); 56-49 (4th Overall)
AKRON: Keith Dambrot - 186-89 (9th at Akron); 294-159 (15th overall)
NEXT UP:
PSU will return to the Bryce Jordan Center to face Bucknell on Black Friday. It will be the 100th meeting in the series between the teams and the first since a 63-60 overtime victory by Penn State in 2006 in State College. Penn State leads the series 75-24 and has won the last 11 meetings.
THE GAME:
Penn State and Akron will face each other for the sixth time. Penn State holds a 4-1 lead in the series and has won the last four meetings. The teams last met in 1994 with Penn State claiming an 80-45 victory in State College. Akron's lone victory in the series came with a 29-19 win in Akron in 1937. Penn State holds a 27-11 record all-time vs. MAC schools.
FRAZIER CRACKS 1,000/24TH IN CAREER SCORING:
With 23 points in Penn State's 72-55 loss to N.C. State in its first game of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off, Tim Frazier became the 30th 1,000-point scorer in Penn State history. He posted 19 in a second round win over Providence and now has 1,035 career points which is good for 24th place all-time on the scoring charts. His 19 points marked his 25th straight double-digit scoring game, 14 of which have been 20+ point outings. He has led Penn State in scoring in 28 of the last 34 games and scored 20+ points in nine of the last 13.
NOTES FROM THE PROVIDENCE GAME:
• Penn State played and won its first overtime game under coach Patrick Chambers. It was Chambers' third career overtime game as a head coach (2-0 at BU) and he is now 3-0.
• The overtime win was the first for Penn State since a 77-73 victory over George Mason in the first round of the 2009 NIT and the Lions first overtime game since a 79-71 loss at No. 18 Wisconsin in 2010.
• With 19 points, Tim Frazier recorded his 25th straight double-digit scoring game and led PSU in scoring for the 28th time in the last 35 games.
• Frazier scored nine straight points during a key second half stretch in which Penn State went from down four, 35-31, with 7:24 to play to up three, 40-37, with 2:23 left.
• Frazier led Penn State in scoring (19), rebounds (9), assists (7), and steals (4) while playing all 45 minutes (a career most) of the overtime game. After leading Penn State in all four categories last year, he currently leads the Lions in points, assists and steals on the year and is second in rebounding (6.0) to Jermaine Marshall (6.3).
• Tim Frazier is now 33-of-39 (84%) at the line on the year, getting to the line an average of 13 times per game. He is 110-of-122 (90%) at the line over his last 19 games.
• Penn State got 41 of its 55 points from its staring backcourt of Frazier, Marshall (13) and D.J. Newbill (9) and has gotten 80% (88 of 110) of its points from them in the Tip-Off and 78% (136 of 175) on the year.
• Penn State grabbed a season high 16 offensive rebounds and has had 13 or more in every game this year for an average of 14.3 per game.
• Penn State had a season high 11 steals and forced 21 Providence turnovers. Penn State has 19 steals in the tournament and is averaging 8.3 spg on the year.
• Penn State scored 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting in overtime after scoring 14 points on 6-of-23 in the first half.
• Penn State continued to struggle shooting hitting 4-of-21 (19%) from three and is now 7-of-40 (17.5%) from the arc for the tournament and 10-of-64 (15.6%) on the year.
SCOUTING AKRON:
The Zips posted an 82-63 win over UNC Asheville on Friday hitting 12-of-24 from three and 49 percent from the floor. Senior forward Chauncey Gilliam (6-5) hit 5-of-6 from three for 22 points in the game while Bayamon, PR native Alex Abreu had 12 points and nine assists. He is one of two Zip players from Puerto Rico. Akron is 2-2 on the year and is posting 78.5 ppg with four players averaging in double figures led by Abreu's 12.8 ppg. Senior, 7-0 center Zeke Marshall leads the team with 8.8 rebounds per game. Akron posted a 22-12 record last season and won the MAC with a 13-3 record. They return four juniors and two seniors from that team.
CHAMBERS IN PUERTO RICO:
Patrick Chambers will be making his second trip to the Puerto Rico Tip-Off as a head coach. He led his Boston University team to a 1-2 mark in the 2009 Puerto Rico Tip-Off and downed Indiana in San Juan, 71-67, for his first victory as a head coach.
FRAZIER NAMED TO WOODEN TOP 50/NAISMITH WATCH:
Tim Frazier was named to the Wooden Award Men's Preseason Top 50. He is the second Nittany Lion in the last three years to be named to the preseason list joining Talor Battle who was named prior to the 2010-11 season. The Preseason Top 50 was chosen by a poll of national college basketball media members. Frazier was among nine Big Ten players named to the list, which led all conferences. The Wooden Award All American Team, consisting of the nation's top 10 players, will be announced the week of the "Elite Eight" round of the NCAA Tournament. He was also named to the Naismith Award Early Season Watch List by the Atlanta Tipoff Club.
FRAZIER PRESEASON ALL-BIG TEN:
Senior guard Tim Frazier was named to the Preseason All-Big Ten team by conference media voters. Frazier, the lone returning first-team All-Big Ten selection from last year, was joined on the preseason team by Ohio State's Aaron Craft and Deshaun Thomas, Michigan's Trey Burke and Indiana's Cody Zeller who was also named the preseason Player of the Year.
FRAZIER SENIOR CLASS AWARD CANDIDATE:
Tim Frazier was one of 30 Division I men's basketball players selected as candidates for the 2012-13 Senior CLASS Award presented to a senior student-athlete with notable achievements in four areas of excellence - community, classroom, character and competition. The award will be trimmed to 10 finalists midway through the season with the winner announced at the 2013 NCAA Final Four in Atlanta.
Single game tickets for men's basketball are available by calling 1-800-NITTANY or by visiting GoPSUsports.com/tickets or Ticketmaster. Single-game tickets for Nittany Lion games are $24 for lower bowl seats between the baselines, $18 for the lower bowl behind the baskets and upper level between the baselines and $15 for upper level behind the basket seats for adults and seniors. Youth tickets (18 and under) are $10, while Penn State student tickets (University Park or branch campus) are $5.
For all the latest information, notes, pictures and related links on Penn State basketball follow Associate Athletic Communications Director Brian Siegrist on Twitter (@PSUSTRETCH) and check GoPSUsports.com. The Nittany Lions are also on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pennstatebasketball.
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