Nov. 24, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - On the heels of back-to-back wins to cap off a trip to the Charleston Classic, the Nittany Lions (4-1) will continue their stretch of seven games in 14 days on Tuesday night when they take on Akron (3-1) inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
Penn State bounced back from a heartbreaking 106-97 double overtime setback against Charleston last Thursday with a pair of victories. D.J. Newbill's game-winner at the buzzer sealed a 72-71 win over Cornell on Friday. Penn State finished off the trip to Charleston with a gritty 63-61 win against USC.
"Obviously, we wanted to win that first game so we put ourselves in a little bit of a hole, but I thought we competed against Charlotte," head coach Patrick Chambers said. "I think Charlotte is a really good team. We competed. We played hard. We left everything out on that court...We've got to just continue to develop and continue to get better."
Newbill was tremendous for the Nittany Lions in Charleston. The senior guard set a tournament record with 83 total points in three games (27.7 ppg). That mark included a 35-point effort against Charlotte. The scoring numbers speak for themselves, but Newbill played with great efficiency. He shot 50 percent from 3-point range, 47 percent from the field and 85 percent from the foul line over the weekend.
While the senior guard was tremendous, Chambers noted on Monday that he is looking for more consistency from the post players as the Lions prep for two games this week.
Akron enters Tuesday's game after knocking off South Carolina to finish its trip to Charleston. The Zips defeated USC (66-46) before a setback to Miami (79-51) sent them to the third-place game in the consolation draw. Freshman Noah Robotham leads the Zips in scoring at 12.0 ppg.
Penn State and Akron have met six times prior to Tuesday's matchup (4-2, PSU). Tip is slated for 7:30 p.m. following the Lady Lions' matchup against St. Bonaventure at 5:30 p.m.
"It was great in Charleston, but there is no place like home," Newbill said.