Feb. 19, 2015
By Matt Allibone, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- Shouldering the scoring load isn't anything new for D.J. Newbill.
After all, it's the role that the 6-foot-4 guard has filled for the Penn State men's basketball team the past three years. On Wednesday night against Wisconsin however, the captain of the Nittany Lions took it to another level.
In a matchup with the fifth-ranked team in the nation, Newbill gave a Herculean effort, scoring 62 percent of the Lions points with 29 hard-fought tallies on 13-21 shooting in a contest that Penn State came up short in, 55-47.
"I felt like we were in the game because of D.J. Newbill and our defense," head coach Patrick Chambers said. "He was terrific. As a coach, he needed help but when he's got it going I've got to go to him. But we need a complete effort from every guy that steps on the floor."
Newbill's 29 points tied for his third highest scoring effort of the season and was his 15th 20-point performance of 2014-`15, yet it was arguably his most impressive game all year. With his teammates struggling to get shots to drop early, the senior completely put the team on his back, hitting a mixture of layups and jumpers to score the Lions' first 12 points in the opening 14:56.
By the time the Lions reached halftime trailing just 31-24, Newbill had helped account for every Penn State point, scoring 16 of them on 7-of-9 shooting and assisting on the other eight tallies. Overall, he finished the night having contributed to all but 10 of the Lions' points, an incredible 79 percent.
It was an effort to be proud of, but the Big Ten's leading scorer spent no time accepting praise afterwards. Having playing all but one minute of the game, Newbill couldn't focus on anything other than how close his team has been against the conference's best competition.
"I was trying to do whatever I can to keep my team in the game," Newbill said. "Those guys rely on me to do a lot, and I rely on them a lot, but I just had it rolling so I just kept shooting. Points mean nothing to me if we lose the game."
It wasn't until the game's 22nd minute, when Brandon Taylor nailed a jumper that Penn State registered a point that Newbill didn't score or assist on. Soon after, the Badgers got rolling, going on an 11-4 run that gave them a 46-30 lead with 8:51 remaining.
For the second-straight game, the Lions were down double-digits in the second half to one of the Big Ten's top two teams. But like on Saturday against Maryland, they turned the momentum, going on a 13-2 run of their own that made the score 48-43 and had the BJC rocking with 4:08 to play.
While Newbill stayed hot during that stretch, scoring seven of the 13 points, he received plenty of help from sophomore guard Geno Thorpe and senior forward Ross Travis. Thorpe hit three shots to tally all six of his points in that frame, while the 6-foot-7 Ross was relentless on the glass, grabbing five of his eight rebounds in the second half.
"That's a huge accomplishment for this group," Chambers said. "They had a huge lead, and we didn't give up, we kept competing, we kept fighting. And they battled all the way back. Again, I'd like to think that we gave ourselves a chance.
"Man did [Travis] play hard, did he bring energy. As a senior you know it's coming down to the end and he just left it all out there."
At that point, the Badgers managed to pull away, getting four consecutive points from star forward and All-American candidate Frank Kaminsky that proved to be too much to overcome. Despite the outcome, it was easily one of Penn State's best defensive games all year.
The Lions limited the Badgers to 39 percent shooting and held them under 60 points for just the second time all season. They also used a joint effort to hold the 7-foot Kaminsky to a 4-12 shooting performance.
As hard as his team played and as close as they continue to come, Chambers remains adamant that the goal is to get over the hump against the best teams in the country. When the fourth year coach thinks about Wednesday though, the first thing that will come to mind is the effort of Newbill.
"D.J. is an amazing kid and I hurt for him. I want to win so badly, not just for our program but for him especially," Chambers said. "He's done so much for this program. He's just been an incredible ambassador.
"Tonight we had to ride [D.J.] and he was incredible. But other guys have got to make plays and have got to make shots. We're playing some really good teams right now, and we're battling. I like this group a lot and they deserve a bounce or something. Because these kids are fighting for everything."