Feb. 15, 2015
By Matt Allibone, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - It was a situation that would test the character of any team.
There was just under 11 minutes remaining in the Penn State men's basketball team's contest against No. 19 Maryland, and the Lions found themselves down 60-49. At that point, it would have been easy for them to accept that it just wasn't their day.
But the Lions wouldn't relent, trading blows with the Big Ten's second-best team and outscoring them 24-16 the rest of the way. In the end, D.J. Newbill's final 3-point attempt came up short as Penn State dropped a back-and-forth game 76-73.
"These kids are playing their butts off, they're doing some really good things," head coach Patrick Chambers said. "We played really good basketball, we really did. 11 assists, [only] seven turnovers is terrific. Guys stepped up, guys made big shots, and we didn't sulk or complain. We didn't really put our heads down when they went up. We battled right back and took the lead."
In a game that featured six double-digit scorers, Penn State's guard duo of D.J. Newbill and Geno Thorpe went toe-to-toe with Maryland's talented tandem of Dez Wells and Melo Trimble, with both pairs finishing with 42 points combined.
Thorpe carried the Lions throughout the first half, going 5-for-8 from the field and hitting a pair of 3-pointers to score 12 points as Penn State led 34-33 at the break. With the Lions down by 11 at the 10:51 mark in the second, the 6-foot-3 guard started a 13-0 run with a three-point play and ended it with a slick assist to Ross Travis that gave the Blue and White a 62-60 lead.
Overall, the sophomore finished with 17 points and five rebounds, but more importantly, his shooting prevented Maryland from focusing all their attention on Newbill, who scored 16 after the break to finish with 25.
"[Geno] needs to play real consistent basketball and when he plays consistent he's really good and he makes us that much better," Chambers said. "Teams are going to have to start worrying about him. And that just gives you more, gives D.J. more space. When Shep [Garner] and BT (Brandon Taylor) and Geno [are playing well], when we're hitting on all cylinders we're a really good basketball team."
Right from the opening tip, it was clear that the Nittany Lions were not intimidated by Maryland. While the Terpins shot a more than respectable 48 percent from the field in the first half, the Lions answered every shot and never trailed during the game's first 20 minutes.
When it looked as though the Terpins were going to pull away by outscoring Penn State 27-15 in first nine minutes of the second half, the Lions regrouped and went on the aforementioned 13-0 run, which included a pair of free throws from Newbill and huge 3-pointers from Garner and Taylor to knot the score at 60-60.
After Travis slammed the ball through the basket to give Penn State a two-point lead, the Nittany Lions faithful were as loud as they were all night.
"I thought tonight was just a high-level game and I thought Penn State was terrific," Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon said. "From beginning to end, they came right back at us.
"Penn State's a really good defensive team, especially in this building. Our offense had to be good because they were making a lot of shots tonight."
Even after the Terpins answered Penn State's run with four consecutive points of their own, the Lions came crawling right back. The determination of the squad was exemplified by Newbill, who scored his team's final nine points to keep them alive down the stretch.
With just 20 seconds remaining and Penn State trailing 74-70, the Big Ten's leading scorer once again ignited the home crowd with his final three that gave the Lions a chance at the end. Despite the eventual outcome, it was another performance that proved the resolve of the Nittany Lions and their senior captain.
"Really proud of them. Really gutty, gritty effort," Chambers said. "Made some adjustments to get back to that point [at the end] which was great."