UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's basketball team resumes its competition schedule after completing final exams this week. The Nittany Lions face NC State in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Boardwalk Classic on Saturday, Dec. 15.
The Nittany Lion-Wolfpack game is the second of a quadruple header at Boardwalk Hall with tipoff scheduled for 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU.
WATCH: ESPNU
Dave Leno (pxp) & Jordan Cornette (analyst)
STREAM: watchespn.com
LISTEN: Penn State Sports Network
Steve Jones (pxp) & Dick Jerardi (analyst)
GoPSUsports.com/lionvision | Affiliates
LIVE STATS: NC State vs. Penn State
SOCIAL: Twitter @PennStateMBB & @Coach_Chambers | Facebook | Instagram @PennStateMBB.
ROSTER: Penn State | NC State
SCHEDULE: Penn State | NC State
STATS: Penn State | NC State
GAME NOTES: Penn State | Big Ten
MEDIA GUIDE: Penn State
NC STATE WOLFPACK
Coach: Kevin Keatts (Marshall, 2011)
NC State Record: 29-13 (Second season)
Career Record: 101-41 (Fifth season)
2018-19 Record: 8-1, 0-0 Atlantic Coast
2018-19 Leading Scorer
#4 Torin Dorn, Sr., G – 16.1 ppg
2018-19 Leading Rebounder
#4 Torin Dorn, Sr., G – 7.2 rpg
2018-19 Assists Leader
#11 Markell Johnson, Jr., G – 4.2 apg
Penn State Nittany Lions
Coach: Patrick Chambers (Philadelphia, 1994)
Penn State Record: 118-126 (8th season)
Career Record: 160-154 (10th season)
2018-19 Leading Scorer:
#11 Lamar Stevens, Jr., F - 20.1 ppg
2018-19 Leading Rebounder:
#11 Lamar Stevens, Jr., F - 8.9 rpg
2018-19 Assists Leader:
#23 Josh Reaves, Sr., G - 3.3 apg
PENN STATE STARTERS (LAST GAME)
F -- 11 -- Lamar Stevens – Jr. | 2018-19 ppg: 20.1 | rpg: 8.9
Note: B1G No. 2 scorer, NCAA No. 36, Needs 5 more rebounds to reach 500 career milestone
F -- 24 – Mike Watkins – R-Jr. | 2018-19 ppg: 6.5 | rpg: 6.3
Note: First start of 2018-19 vs. Colgate, team-best 58.8 FG percentage from field
G – 2 -- Myles Dread -- Fr. | 2018-19 ppg: 8.4 | rpg: 2.9
Note: 9 starts, 28.9 mpg, Added 12 points vs. IU, tied for second on team with 12 steals
G – 13 – Rasir Bolton -- Fr. | 2018-19 ppg: 13.6 | rpg: 2.7
Note: Career-best total 27 pts vs Colgate, 78% 3FG% (7-9), 7 games with double-digit scoring
G – 23 -- Josh Reaves -- Sr. | 2018-19 ppg: 10.4 | rpg: 5.9
Note: Leads B1G in total steals & steals per game, 4 steals shy of 200 for career
SERIES RECORD vs. NC STATE
This is the 21st meeting between the Penn State and NC State with the Wolfpack holding a 17-3 advantage in the series. The two teams met most recently in the 2017 Big Ten/ACC Challenge in Raleigh, N.C. Penn State's last win in the series was a 74-72 victory in the consolation game of the 2000 NIT at Madison Square Garden.
Series streak: NC State, W3
Last game: NC State 85, Penn State 78, 11/29/17
Overall series: NC State leads 17-3
Neutral sites: NC State leads 2-1
Chambers vs. NC State: 0-2
STARTING 5
Under Coach Patrick Chambers, Penn State has won six of its last nine games against Atlantic Coast Conference teams with a current two-game win streak (W, 63-62, vs. Virginia Tech 11/27/2018 & W, 73-63, at Notre Dame 3/17/18).
Penn State's last trip to Atlantic City and Boardwalk Hall was on Dec. 9, 1995 when the Nittany Lions topped Penn 88-61. Pete Lisicky scored 35 points and set the program's single-game 3-point field goal record with nine (10-13 FG, 9-10 3FG).
Junior Lamar Stevens needs five more rebounds to reach the 500-career rebound milestone.
Senior guard Josh Reaves ranks fourth on the Penn State career chart for steals with 196, good for seventh on the NCAA active career list. He has led the Nittany Lions in steals 50 times.
Rasir Bolton became the first Nittany Lion freshman to have seven 3-pointers in a game since freshman Talor Battle against Michigan on March 1, 2008 (7-9 3FG, 10-13 overall).
TRIO LEADS LIONS OVER COLGATE 76-65
Three Nittany Lions scored in double figures, led by Rasir Bolton with a career-best 27 points, as Penn State pulled away from Colgate for a 76-65 win. Mike Wakins, making his first start of the 2018-19 season, and Lamar Stevens both recorded double-doubles.
The double-double duo combined for 22 of the Nittany Lions' points in the second half and eight points in the final 4:04.
Reaves found Watkins on the baseline for a rim-shaking dunk with just over four minutes to play that gave Penn State a six-point lead, 63-57. Reaves finished his night with nine points and game-high totals in assists (5) and steals (3). With his three steals, Reaves tied former Tim Frazier for fourth on Penn State's career steals list with 193.
Watkins scored 12 of his 18 points in the final 10 minutes of the game which included his two free throws and layup in the final 2:24. Reaves added a trey with one minute left to push Penn State back to a double-digit lead. Bolton had his final two free throws for his career-best 27 total.
Baskets by Watkins and Stevens gave the Lions a brief nine-point lead with 9:27 to play. A three by Francisco Amiel drew Colgate back within six, and free throws by Will Rayman and Jordan Burns' three-straight field goals, including a trey, cut the Nittany Lion lead to only three before Penn State was able to pull away over the next two minutes.
Penn State connected on seven 3-pointers in the first half as Bolton started 4-4 from behind the 3-point arc and had 17 points by the break. The Nittany Lions used a 10-0 run over four minutes to extend the led by as many as 19 points.
Burns, the Raiders' leading scorer, had only three points at the half and finished with 10 for the game. Rayman had 15 points and seven rebounds to lead Colgate with two other Raiders in double digits.
BY THE NUMBERS
3 – Millions of dollars raised (net) by Coaches vs. Cancer-Penn State since the organization was launched in 1995.
7 – Number of 3-pointers made by Rasir Bolton vs. Colgate, third on the Penn State single-game list. Bolton and Talor Battle (2007-2011) are the only two Nittany Lion freshmen to record seven treys in a single game.
8.7 – Penn State leads the Big Ten in steals per game for all games and tops the chart for conference contests after recording back-to-back 12-steal games at Maryland and vs. Indiana.
63.5 – Career field goal percentage for Mike Watkins, which ranks eighth on the NCAA active career list.
196 – Career steals for Josh Reaves, who, with four more, becomes only the fourth Nittany Lion and 11th Big Ten player all time with 200 career steals. He has led PSU in steals 50 times.
495 – Career rebounds for Lamar Stevens as he needs five more to become only the 30th player in Penn State history with 500 career rebounds.
$22,095 – Net funds raised for the American Red Cross Hurricane Relief Fund by Penn State and West Virginia from exhibition game ticket sales
and donations from fans.
