Penn State Knocks Off No. 6 Michigan in the BJC

Penn State Knocks Off No. 6 Michigan in BJC, 75-69
Stevens Records 10th Career Double-Double with Game-Best 26 Points, 12 Rebounds
 
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Freshman Myles Dread's 3-point basket with 7:12 minutes left in the game and a Mike Watkins' putback extended Penn State's lead to nine and helped the Nittany Lions to an eventual win over No. 6 Michigan, 75-69. Junior forward Lamar Stevens led three Nittany Lions in double figures with his 10th career double-double with a game-best 26 points and 12 rebounds.
 
Stevens was just as impressive on the defensive end and had two blocks and two rebounds in two possessions to keep the Wolverines at bay. In the first half, Stevens recorded his 600th career rebound and tied his career-best with the 12 boards in the game.
 
Dread finished the night with a Big Ten career-best 17 points and five 3-point field goals. Classmate Rasir Bolton had 13 points. Sophomore guard Jamari Wheeler had three steals to go along with four assists and four points.
 
Penn State's last field goal came with 3:19 left in the game with the Nittany Lions up by 10, 64-54. Michigan sent Penn State to the line 15 times in three minutes and scored 15 going 5-5 with two 3-pointers to pull within four, 73-69, with 18 seconds left. Two additional free throws by Stevens gave Penn State it's final total.
 
"(I'm) really, really proud of my team," said Penn State men's basketball coach Patrick Chambers. "I know I've said that a lot, but their approach, how they keep wanting to get better every day, and how they've blocked out all the noise. They showed up…They kept showing up: practice, film sessions, shootarounds, extra work. It's a special group. I don't think our record, and I've said this too, is a reflection of how hard this team has worked, how they've competed and really put themselves out there. We're going to continue to do this because it's going to be short lived. I mean give Michigan credit. Great team, top-10 team, fought back like we knew they would and we were able to punch back, which was great to see."
 
For Penn State men's basketball coach Patrick Chambers, it was his 13th win over a top-25 team and 10th at home in the Bryce Jordan Center. The Nittany Lions have two top-25 wins in the BJC this season after defeating No. 13 Virginia Tech in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge earlier in the season. Chambers' 122nd win at Penn State tied him with John Bach for fifth on the Penn State career wins list.
 
The victory by Penn State snapped Michigan's eight-game win streak in the series. The last Nittany Lion win over the Wolverines came in 2013.
 
The Wolverines made a run over four minutes early in the second half, cutting their deficit to five points, 52-47 with five points from Isaiah Livers, a three-point play by Jon Teske and a basket by Jordan Poole. A layup by Charles Matthews and free throw a minute later made it a 55-51. Dread's triple from the left corner pushed Penn State's lead back to seven points and Watkins' putback gave the Nittany Lions a nine-point advantage, 60-51.
 
Over the next three minutes, Michigan had a 3-pointer and Penn State had a jumper from Stevens. The Nittany Lions' 10-point lead, 64-54, would be whittled to four as the Wolverines countered fouls and free throws with 15 points in three minutes. Stevens made six of his final free throws for the win.
 
The Nittany Lions held the lead over Michigan for nearly 37 minutes after trailing 5-2 and 5-4, last at the 17:36 mark. Penn State took a 7-5 lead about a minute later and would never trail again.


Michigan shot 51 percent from the field for the game to Penn State's 46.2, but the Nittany Lions crashed on the boards with a 35-25 advantage on the glass. Both teams had 12 turnovers for the game after Penn State had only three in the first half.

Bolton converted a layup as time expired in the first half for a 40-27 lead over the Wolverines. Technical fouls assessed on the Michigan bench sent Wolverine head coach John Beilein to the locker room and at the start of the second half, Penn State went to the free throw line with four attempts with Bolton connecting on three. The 16-point lead at 43-27 was the Nittany Lions' largest of the night.
 
Wolverine senior Charles Matthews had 24 points with 8-11 shooting from the floor, including three 3-pointers. Isaiah Livers had seven rebounds for Michigan's game best, all on the defensive side.
 
The 75 points are the most Michigan has given up in a Big Ten Conference game this season and the most allowed since its game vs. South Carolina on Dec. 8, 2018. For the Nittany Lions, it was the highest point total against Michigan since the Feb. 27, 2013 upset (84) in the Bryce Jordan Center.
 
Penn State travels to No. 12 Purdue for a 4 p.m. game on Saturday, Feb. 16 and returns home to the Bryce Jordan Center Tuesday, Feb. 19 for an 7 p.m. ET game vs. Nebraska.
 
For information or to purchase Penn State men's single-game tickets for the next home game vs. Michigan on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 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.