Feb. 25, 2018
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LINCOLN, Neb. - Penn State outscored Nebraska in the second half 47-42, but couldn't overcome a double-digit first-half deficit in a loss to the Huskers, 76-64, at Pinnacle Bank Arena Sunday night.
Sophomore guard Tony Carr secured the Big Ten scoring title with a game-high 27 points, 19 coming in the second half, to surpass the 1,000-point milestone in the process. Senior guard Shep Garner moved past the 1,500-point mark, also in the second half, with his 11 points.
Penn State finishes the regular season at 19-12 with a 9-9 record in Big Ten Conference play, both high marks for coach Patrick Chambers.
Nebraska built its lead from 8-7 early to 25-10 with a 17-3 run over eight minutes as the Nittany Lions made only one basket and turned the ball over four times in the stretch. The Huskers added six points for a 34-17 score going into the locker room.
Over a five-minute period in the second half, Carr scored 14 straight points for the Nittany Lions to chip away at the Huskers' 21-point lead. Garner bookended Carr's performance with six of his 11 second-half points. Carr's 18th point of the second half trimmed the Nebraska lead to 12.
Five different Nittany Lions scored points in the five minutes following the break and Penn State shot 53.1 percent in the second half. After 11 turnovers in the first 20 minutes, there were only two more for the Nittany Lions while they forced Nebraska into nine of its 15 in that same timeframe.
Penn State struggled offensively in the first half, shooting only 25.9 percent (7-27) with Carr and Stevens each making three field goals off nine attempts. Reaves had six of his rebounds at the half as well as three assists and three steals. Reaves shared the Nittany Lion rebounding lead with Stevens, each with seven.
Stevens was the third Penn State player with double figures in the scoring column with 13. Reaves finished the game with seven steals, a career best for the junior guard, and the most by a Nittany Lion since 2007.
Four Huskers scored in double figures with Isaac Copeland with 17, Isaiah Roby with 13 and James Palmer Jr., and Glynn Watson Jr., tied with 11 apiece. Copeland had 12 rebounds and four assists for game-high totals.
Nebraska had 26 points in the paint in the first half and finished with 46 for the game. The Huskers maintained control with 56 percent shooting from the field and a 22-10 rebounding margin in the second half.
The battle on the boards was even, tied at 16-16, until Nebraska collected five more to only two for the Nittany Lions in the final 3:04 of first period for a 23-18 advantage. The final rebounding advantage went in favor of the Huskers 45-28 and 22 of Nebraska's points came off second chances.
The Nittany Lions will travel to the Big Ten Tournament in New York City as the No. 7 seed and will play at Northwestern at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 1. The 21st Big Ten Tournament is being held at Madison Square Garden for the first time in the conference's history.
For more information about the Nittany Lions tournament and tickets, visit gopsusports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/022518aaa.html.
Keep up to date with the latest information from Coach Patrick Chambers and the Nittany Lions on Twitter by following @Coach_Chambers and @PennStateMBB, liking the team's page on Facebook and following the team Instagram account at @PennStateMBB.