PENN STATE 81, EASTERN MICHIGAN 70
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Dec. 5, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (AP) - Brandon Taylor is confident if he can get into a rhythm, he can do major damage from any spot on the court.
After spending large portions of Penn State's previous game on the bench in foul trouble, the Nittany Lions forward stayed out of it on Saturday, found his groove and scored a career-high 27 points in an 81-70 win over Eastern Michigan.
Taylor's contributions weren't limited to consistent shooting, however.
''He's so versatile right now,'' Penn State coach Patrick Chambers said. ''He's in the post. He kicked out for 3s, he drove it. He's just playing at a real high level right now. And then at the other side he's going to get you 12 rebounds.''
Taylor started toward his third career double-double almost immediately. He made seven of his team's first 13 points, assisted on its first five and snagged six of its first 12 rebounds. Then he got hot from long distance to give Penn State a lead it would not relinquish.
After settling for midrange jumpers and layups early, Taylor found his 3-point shot midway through the first. He made his first of four 3-pointers to tie it 19-19. He drilled his second moments later to spark a 15-5 run the Nittany Lions (5-2) used to take a 34-24 halftime lead. Meanwhile, the Eagles shot just 4 for 12 over the final 10:45 of the first half.
''The first four minutes of the second half it was extremely important for us to play well,'' Eastern Michigan coach Rob Murphy said. ''They were able to stretch the lead out. ... Give a lot of credit to Taylor. He had an unbelievable game.''
Penn State led the entire second half and built a 23-point lead with 11:47 to play. Taylor scored 14 points in the second and played 37 minutes after being limited to two points over 18 minutes in Penn State's win over Boston College on Wednesday.
''Brandon is a great playmaker,'' Penn State guard Shep Garner said. ''You put him in the middle of the zone, you know he can read the defense pretty good, like a point guard, kinda.''
Payton Banks added 17 points and Garner finished with 16 for the Nittany Lions, who won their third straight.
James Thompson led Eastern Michigan with 18 points. Willie Mangum added 15 for the Eagles (5-3), who had a three-game winning streak snapped.
When the Eagles struggled to get shots to fall inside they opted for longer ones. But they had little luck from 3-point range, too. They began the second half cold, making just 5 of 14 field goals in the first 10 minutes. Five of those misses came from 3-point range and Penn State grabbed all five rebounds.
Penn State's forwards went to work on the other end.
Taylor opened the second half with a jumper while Banks and Julian Moore combined for the next nine points. Garner hit a 3-pointer then added two free throws after Ty Toney fouled him hard on a drive to the net.