Aug 13, 2013
ANTWERP, Belgium. - Down 21 points midway through the third quarter, Nittany Lion basketball made a furious rally, but it came up short in a 94-88 loss to St Jan at Sporthal Arena. Penn State was led by Tim Frazier (Houston, Texas) with 26 points and Ross Travis (Chaska, Minn.) with 19.
Spanning the third and fourth quarters, Penn State went on a 14-5 run following a Donovon Jack (Reading, Pa.) dunk early in the fourth quarter as St Jan held a 69-57 lead. Jack's play in the fourth quarter was spectacular as he would later convert an alley-oop, and a pair of back-to-back three-pointers. Coupled with a Graham Woodward (Edina, Minn.) three-pointer and two Ross free-throws, Penn State pared the deficit down to eight points at 84-76 with 3:55 remaining. Jack finished the game with 14 points, 12 of which came in the fourth quarter.
The Penn State run continued with a Frazier three-point play, a Woodward free throw and a Frazier crossover drive cut the lead to just four points, 86-82, as St Jan called timeout with 2:55 to go. Penn State's run was 41-24 following the 21-point deficit. Frazier scored nine points in the fourth quarter.
St Jan extended the lead back to eight (92-84) with 1:24 remaining before Jack made two free throws and Frazier converted a layup off Ross's steal at midcourt. Nevertheless, St Jan made enough free throws and jumpers down the stretch to win by six.
Freshman Geno Thorpe (Pittsburgh, Pa.) had 12 points and Woodward finished with seven. Travis led the rebounding effort with 11 and Jack pulled down eight. Guards Frazier and Thorpe each had five rebounds.
In an early game of runs, Penn State fought back from an early six-point deficit to take a 21-18 lead near the end of the first quarter. The run was ignited by two Travis dunks including one off an alley-oop from Frazier. The Penn State duo combined for 18 of the team's 21 first-quarter points as the frame ended tied with St Jan following a buzzer beater.
The second quarter belonged to St Jan as the Antwerp side would open an 11-point lead following a four-point play from Idris Lasisi. Lasisi led St Jan on 5-of-7 shooting overall and 4-of-6 from three-point range as the Nittany Lions trailed 47-33 at halftime.
Travis had the most impressive half for Penn State with 13 points and seven rebounds, four of which came on the offensive glass. Frazier filled up the stat sheet as well, going 4-for-6 from the field, scoring nine points and dishing three assists.
In the second half, Penn State kept the game in reach midway through the third period, but St Jan began to lengthen its lead to 21 points at 64-43 with 3:27 remaining. Allen Roberts (Middletown, Ohio) and Geno Thorpe (Pittsburgh, Pa.) hit three-pointers that sandwiched a St Jan effort that brought the Lions with 15 at 67-52. After giving up a bucked on the defensive end, Thorpe converted a three-point play as the quarter ended 69-55.
Penn State shot 39 percent from the floor on 30 of 76 shooting, while St Jan shot 31-for-71 (44 percent). Penn State had 14 steals, led by Ross's four, on 21 St Jan turnovers while the Lions committed 19 turnovers of their own.
Foul trouble also played a part in the game. Brandon Taylor (Tabernacle, N.J.) played just 16 minutes before fouling out with four points and one rebound. Thorpe fouled out late in the fourth, while Frazier played nearly the entire second half with four fouls after picking up three in the first half. D.J. Newbill (Philadelphia, Pa.) played 16 minutes in the opening half, but didn't return to the game after halftime due to illness.
Penn State travels to Paris during its off day tomorrow before playing its final game in Europe against Binnenland of the Netherlands on Thursday night. Local tip is set for 7:30 p.m. (1:30 p.m. ET).