Aug. 8, 2017
NASSAU, Bahamas -- Penn State men's basketball quickly opened up a double-digit point lead in the opening quarter of its game against the Providence Storm and cruised to a 112-63 victory in the Kendal G.L. Isaacs National Gymnasium Tuesday evening. The Nittany Lions improved to 2-0 on the in the "Summer of Thunder" tournament with the win and will take on the Bahamas All-Stars Wednesday, Aug. 9 at 7 p.m. ET.
The final box score from Tuesday's game is available here: http://www.fibalivestats.com/u/BBFN/635687/bs.html.
Senior guard Shep Garner and sophomore guard Tony Carr both eclipsed the 20-point mark with Garner totaling 28 to lead the Lions and Carr finishing with 22. Sophomore guard Lamar Stevens (16) junior guard Josh Reaves (14), freshman guard Jamari Wheeler (13) contributed with double-digit point totals.
"Today's game was awesome for the mental conditioning and mental mindset of habits," said Penn State men's basketball coach Patrick Chambers. "We haven't been in the position where we have a lead of 20, 30, 40 points, so, can we play the same way for all four quarters? That was the goal. We don't want our guys to look at the score, we want to play one way, and that's it."
The Nittany Lions connected on 54.9 (45-82) percent of their shots for the game, bolstered by a scorching 61.5 percent in the second half (21-39). Garner had 17 of his points come in the second half and was 10-18 overall from the field with seven three-pointers. Four of Carr's nine baskets were from long range, all coming in the first half of action.
Junior forward Satchel Pierce led all players with 10 rebounds, seven on the defensive side, as the Lions dominated on the boards 50-26. Stevens collected seven on the night and Carr and Bostick had six each.
Up 25-11 after the first quarter, Penn State charged ahead to a 53-26 halftime lead with 52 percent shooting from the field and energetic defense. The Nittany Lions cruised in the second half to the win, outpacing the Providence Storm 32-16 in the fourth quarter. Penn State clamped down on its opponent, allowing only 36.1 percent shooting from the field, including a three-point field goal percentage of 15.8 percent (3-19).
"At halftime I talked to our team about creating great habits and we are preparing for those nights when our shots aren't falling, we are preparing for the most difficult nights on the road, everything is against you, and you're not making shots," Chambers said. "Our guys played hard and I thought they were consistent with their effort. I felt like they shared the ball, and we reduced our turnovers. That was critical. We need to keep getting better."
The Wednesday game against the Bahamas All-Stars wraps up the competition portion of Penn State's trip. A live stream of Wednesday's game is expected and the link will be located at https://www.youtube.com/user/10thyearseniors1.
Visit GoPSUSports.com for all exhibition game recaps and follow the Penn State men's basketball team on Twitter at @PennStateMBB, on Facebook and Instagram at @PennStateMBB for frequent updates of the Nittany Lions' travels and activities in the Bahamas.
Deposits for new 2017-18 Penn State Men's Basketball season tickets can be made by calling 1-800-NITTANY (weekdays, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Eastern time) or by visiting gopsusports.com/tickets/m-baskbl-tickets.html.