March 2, 2018
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NEW YORK - Sophomore guard Tony Carr dumped a pass in the lane to Josh Reaves for the game-winning dunk as Penn State upset Ohio State 69-68 in the quarterfinals of the 2018 Big Ten Tournament in Madison Square Garden.
The Nittany Lions advance to the semifinals Saturday with the game against No. 3 seed Purdue scheduled for approximately 4:30 p.m. The contest will be broadcast on CBS.
Carr led the Nittany Lions for the second-straight night with 25 points and had five assists in the victory over the Buckeyes. Penn State has dealt Ohio State three of its five losses this season, including a victory at Value City Arena, one of only two teams to win in Columbus this year.
"I'm really proud of these guys," said Penn State men's basketball coach Patrick Chambers. "Every time Ohio State made a run and it looked like they were going to extend the lead, you know, they stepped up and made a big play. These guys stood tall, they really did. They studck together, really believed in our foundation of defending and rebounding."
The Nittany Lions outrebounded the Buckeyes 39-33, but it was a critical steal by senior guard Shep Garner, that set up the opportunity for the winning possession. With 16 seconds left, Garner snatched the ball away from Ohio State and when falling to the ground, passed the ball to teammate Julian Moore. Carr would wind up with the ball and his pass to Reaves led him to straight to the hoop.
Carr had a key block on the defensive end that prevented an Ohio State three from finding the basket.
The back-and-forth game featured 11 ties and seven lead changes with the final lead change occurring with just 3.1 left on the clock. The Nittany Lions took a one-point lead, 33-32, into the locker room and used a 12-3 stretch to extend their lead to eight. Penn State did not relinquish the lead until only 5:02 remained in the game. Five points from Kam Williams, pushed the score from its 10th tie at 60 to a 62-60 lead for the Buckeyes.
Senior guard Shep Garner, who finished the night with 13 points, hit two free throws to tie the game again at 62. Ohio State clung to leads of two and four points with the Nittany Lions responding at every turn.
Ohio State had three baskets in the final four minutes to Penn State's two, but three free throws by the Nittany Lions brought them within one of the Buckeyes, 68-67, with 47 seconds remaining.
Penn State achieved its 21st win by the earliest date in its Big Ten era and advances to the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament for the fourth time since the tournament began in 1998 with previous appearances in 2000, 2001 and 2011.
For more information on the Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament, go to www.BigTen.org/MBBT.
For information or to make a 2018-19 Penn State men's basketball season ticket deposit, fans should go to nittanylionfeedback.com/se/3FF63F244373D7BF or call 1-800-NITTANY, weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
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.