ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Nittany Lions Mike Watkins and Lamar Stevens both posted double-double nights, but No. 2 Michigan held off the Penn State men's basketball team 68-55 Thursday night in the Crisler Center. Watkins recorded his second double-double of the season and 22nd of his career with a game-high 12 rebounds and a season-best 19 points. Stevens had 17 points and 10 rebounds.
"Obviously, Michigan is a great team, they are number two for a reason," said Nittany Lion basketball coach Patrick Chambers. "I am enjoyed this game, competing. I thought our team showed some real grit and incredible passion because in moments in this game, they could have easily taken it to 20…Overall, we're going to learn a lot from this. I'm going to take a lot of positives away from this game…This is a game we can build on. This is a road game against a top team in the country, top team in the Big Ten, a lot of positives."
Michigan, which had three turnovers in its first five possessions of the game, reversed that trend with only two in the second half compared to eight for Penn State, which finished with 18 overall. Four Nittany Lion turnovers in the first seven possessions helped the Wolverines build a double-digit lead early in the second half.
Midway through the second half, nearly three minutes went off the clock as Michigan went without a field goal, allowing Penn State to pull within eight, 55-47. A 3-pointer by Wolverine senior Charles Matthews, followed by a layup by Matthews on the next trip down the floor pushed Michigan back up to a 13-point lead.
After a Josh Reaves steal to set up a Stevens layup to put the score at 60-51, Michigan countered with a three by Idnas Brazdeikis and closed out its scoring with five free throws.
Neither team shot well in the first half and both Penn State (7-7, 0-3) and Michigan (14-0, 3-0) took advantage of the opponents' scoring droughts. The Wolverines went 15-27 from the field in the second half (55.6) and defended the Nittany Lions 3-point field goal attempts, allowing only one for the game.
Michigan went up by as many as 10 points in the first half, 20-10, but Penn State held the Wolverines scoreless for over 5:44, and went on an 8-0 run during that time. Freshman guard Rasir Bolton had back-to-back baskets and then Watkins had a steal and score to chop the lead to four, 20-16.
Stevens grabbed a rebound from a Michigan miss and went in for a layup to bring the game within two, 20-18. The Wolverines took a 25-20 lead to the locker room, the second-lowest total Michigan has posted in any half this year.
Guards Reaves and Jamari Wheeler played only eight minutes each in the first half and went to the bench with two fouls each. Sophomore forward John Harrar had a career best three steals and added three rebounds.
As a team, the Nittany Lions had a 37-29 advantage on the boards and 44 points in the paint to the Wolverines 32, but gave up a 10-point different in points off turnovers at 10-20 in favor of Michigan. Both teams attempted 14 3-point field goals, but only one found the bottom of the net for Penn State.
Jordan Poole led a trio of Wolverines in double figures with 17 and Ignas Brazdeikis also recorded a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Charles Matthews finished with 14 points.
For Penn State, it marked the second game of the season where Stevens and Watkins had both recorded double-doubles, the last time was vs. Colgate Dec. 8.
The Nittany Lions return to the Bryce Jordan Center for a 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 6 home game against Wisconsin.
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.
