PITTSBURGH, Pa. – With 5.2 seconds left in the game, freshman guard Rasir Bolton hit four-straight free throws as a result of two technical fouls on the Duquesne bench and junior forward Lamar Stevens added two more to give Penn State a 73-67 win at PPG Paints Arena.
Stevens scored 21 of his 25 points in the second half and finished the night with his fifth double-double of the season with 10 rebounds on his stat line.
"I was really proud of my team in the second half, the way we competed and how hard we played," said Penn State men's basketball coach Patrick Chambers. "We took care of the basketball, that was critical. We had 12 turnovers (in the first half) and that led to a lot of points. I thought we made good adjustments and thought the guys really executed the adjustments well in the second half. It was really a gut check time…Our group responded…We got our identity back."
After Duquesne's Eric Williams, Jr. hit two free throws with 10 seconds remaining to tie the game for the 11th time, Stevens drove the lane to the basket and was fouled. The game played out at the free throw line where the Nittany Lions went 6-6 for the final margin.
The game saw 15 lead changes with the Nittany Lions taking a 62-61 lead with 4:04 remaining in the game. The Dukes grabbed it back with two free throws before a Myles Dread 3-pointer with 3:29 left gave the lead back to Penn State. Stevens scored the final basket for Penn State with 1:53 left in the game followed by a sequence of misses by both teams before the final points were scored.
Penn State held Duquesne to only four second-half baskets and stifled the Dukes on the floor, holding them to two scoreless droughts of more than six minutes each in the second period. Duquesne was 4-20 from the field, going 0-7 from three-point range, and finished the game at 35.6 percent (16-45).
Bolton had 16 points on the night, giving him his ninth double-figure scoring game, and Myles Dread finished with 12. Redshirt junior Mike Watkins had 11 of his 12 rebounds in the second half and added three points and an assist. Senior guard Josh Reaves recorded four steals and became only the fourth Nittany Lion with more than 200 career steals, now at 202.
Bolton hit three-straight jumpers for the Lions to tie the game at 12 and then put the Lions up 14-12 for his seven first-half points. Dread took over with three of his four three-pointers for nine points in the first half, finishing with 12 points for the game. Duquesne hit six of its last eight baskets in the half and used a 6-0 run in the final minute to take a 39-32 lead into the locker room. Both teams had a sloppy first half with the Lions with 12 turnovers and Duquense with 10.
Penn State had 18 offensive rebounds with a total 41 boards to the Dukes' 32. The teams were nearly even in several statistical categories, including points in the paint at 22 for Penn State and 18 for Duquesne, points off turnovers a 19-18 edge for the Nittany Lions and 19-18 advantage for Duquesne with scoring off the bench.
Eric Williams Jr. had 21 points to lead the Dukes while he and Marcus Weathers each had seven rebounds.
Penn State plays the second of its two road games at Alabama on Friday, Dec. 21 before the holidays.
The Nittany Lions return to the Bryce Jordan Center on Saturday, Dec. 29 with its final nonconference contest of the season vs. UMBC. Tip time is 1 p.m. For information or to purchase Penn State men's single-game tickets, visit GoPSUsports.com/mbbsinglegametix or call 1-800-NITTANY, weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Keep up to date with the latest information from Coach Chambers and the Nittany Lions on Twitter by following @Coach_Chambers and @PennStateMBB, on Facebook and Instagram at @PennStateMBB.
