Feb. 27, 2014
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Junior D.J. Newbill (Philadelphia, Pa.) posted 23 points and fifth-senior Tim Frazier (Houston, Texas) notched 16 points as the Penn State basketball team upset No. 22 Ohio State for the second time in 2014 on Thursday's Senior Night at the Bryce Jordan Center. The win marks the Nittany Lions' first season sweep over OSU since the 1997-98 campaign and moves PSU to 2-3 vs. ranked teams this season.
Ross Travis (Chaska, Minn.) and Geno Thorpe (Pittsburgh, Pa.) also turned in notable performances for the Nittany Lions (14-14, 5-10 Big Ten). Travis pulled down a game-high eight rebounds while adding four points and Thorpe recorded a season-high nine points while tacking on three boards.
Free throws proved important down the stretch with the teams trading freebies in eight of the final 10 possessions. A 3-for-4 effort at the line by Frazier at the end of the game made all the difference and sent the Lions out on top as OSU (22-7, 9-7 Big Ten) was unable to overcome the deficit.
Penn State shot 44.2 percent (19-of-43) from the field, 38.5 percent (5-of-13) from 3-point range and 78.6 percent (22-of-28) from the free throw line while OSU shot 42.6 percent (20-of-47) from the floor, 29.4 percent (5-of-17) from beyond the arc and 66.7 percent (18-of-27) from the charity stripe. The Nittany Lions out rebounded the Buckeyes 34-25 and registered 15 second chance points to OSU's five.
LaQuinton Ross led the charge for Ohio State, dropping 19 points and pulling down six rebounds while Aaron Craft turned a 10 point effort.
Ohio State ran out to a 10-2 lead to start the game, gaining points from LaQuinton Ross, Aaron Craft and Sam Thompson while Newbill tallied a jumper for the Lions. Penn State closed the gap to four points at the 11:55 mark but was unable to take control of the game as a pair of free throws from Amadeo Della Valle sparked a 7-0 run and gave the Buckeyes their largest lead of the game at 22-11.
The Nittany Lions grinded out the final 10 minutes of the half, scoring 15 points while holding OSU to just six to cut the deficit to two points and put the score at 28-26 heading into the intermission.
Ohio State answered the call in the opening minutes of the second half, extending its lead to 33-26 in just over a minute but the Blue and White did not stay down for long, putting up a 10-2 streak to take their first lead of the game with 15:15 on the clock.
The Buckeyes battled the Lions for the remainder of the game, never trailing by more than five points, but would never regain the lead. A final 3-point attempt from Lenzelle Smith, Jr. with three seconds on the clock nearly changed the outcome but Smith could not get it to fall as the Nittany Lions left victorious with a 65-63 win.
The Blue and White return to the Bryce Jordan Center on Sunday to take on No. 14 Wisconsin in the 2014 home finale at noon. PSU will close out the regular season with a two-game road swing next week, heading to Northwestern on Thursday and Minnesota on Sunday.