March 1, 2015
By Matt Allibone, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - It was the definition of a gut-check moment for the Penn State men's basketball team.
Despite battling Iowa throughout the second half of Saturday night's game and sending it to overtime, the Nittany Lions found themselves down six just 1:39 into the extra period after a pair of Hawkeye 3-pointers. With the game about to slip away, the Lions showed the same resolve they have all year, scoring six straight points to knot the score at 74-74.
It was a stretch that epitomized the effort that Penn State gave all evening, yet it proved to not be enough, as Iowa outlasted the Lions 81-77 in a heartbreaking loss.
"I feel bad for these kids that played their hearts out today," Chambers said. "And they worked really hard all week. It's unfortunate. When you make 10 threes and you've got four guys in double figures (scoring). We need to win that game. But these kids battled all week and they battled today against a really good basketball team. I'm proud of the way we competed today. We fought and we continued to fight in that overtime."
It was another game in which the Lions absorbed blow after blow from their opponent yet refused to back down. The effort was once again led by D.J. Newbill, who came up big despite the game's outcome.
With Penn State down two with 18 seconds remaining, Newbill drained a pair of huge free throws that sent the game to overtime. With the team then down six, the 6-foot-4 guard followed up a Geno Thorpe basket with two straight buckets of his own to reignite the Bryce Jordan Center crowd.
Although he struggled in the first half with two points on 1-7 shooting, Newbill kept attacking and finished the night with 19 points, five rebounds and five assists.
"When we ran that [play at the end of the second], and D.J. made those two free throws, I felt like we were due, we were ready, we finally got over the hump," Chambers said. "Give Iowa credit, they've been there before and they hit some big shots in that overtime."
Still, Newbill wasn't asked to face Iowa alone, as three of his teammates reached double-digits in points in guard Shep Garner (17), forward Ross Travis (10) and Thorpe (14).
The tandem Garner and Thorpe, who start alongside Newbill in the Lions' small-ball lineup, shined during a 12-3 second half run in which Penn State turned a 61-54 deficit into a 66-64 lead with 3:33 remaining. Thorpe converted a fast-break layup that cut the Hawkeyes' lead to three before his freshman counterpart tied it up with a three-point play less than a minute later.
It was one of a handful of big plays from Garner, who also hit four 3-pointers and went 3-3 from behind his arc in the first half. Less than two weeks after he didn't register a point against Wisconsin, the first year point guard looked back on track, reaching double figures for the first time since Jan. 31 against Illinois.
As disappointed as he was, Chambers was still able to find solace in the gritty play of his young guards, who both will be a huge part of the Penn State backcourt for the next two years.
"They're getting extra shots up, they're working harder and they're definitely playing well together," Chambers said. "If there's any positives, watching those two play...that's our future. You can't fault their effort. They're doing everything they can to help us win games."
Not surprisingly, the player that seemed to exert as much effort as anybody was Travis, who scored his third highest total of the season and like usual, protected the glass like a madman, finishing the game with nine rebounds.
The third-highest rebounder in Penn State history, Travis rarely gets acclaim, but his play as of late has certainly deserved it. The 6-foot-7 forward grabbed four boards on offense alone, including two in the same possession late in the second half with his team down two.
"I thought Ross Travis had one of his best games," Chambers said. "Guys definitely stepped up today. Again, four guys in double figures that's nice. We've got to continue working and start preparing for Ohio State."