EVANSTON, Ill. – Penn State junior forward Lamar Stevens scored five of his 11 second-half points in the final five minutes, and had three rebounds and two critical blocks in that timeframe as the Nittany Lions defeated Northwestern 59-52 Monday night. Stevens had a share of the game-high scoring honors with 18 points and added seven rebounds and a career-best tying six assists to his stat line.
"We stuck together, as you can see, and we're just trying to get a little bit better," said Penn State men's basketball coach Patrick Chambers. "I've been talking to our guys about that for most of the season. We have one of the toughest strengths of schedule in the country and these guys keep showing up…totally focused on getting better and tasting victory. That's what I saw for the last few weeks when we were close…I'm so proud of this group for not giving in and for finding our identity, which is Penn State basketball."
Both the Nittany Lions and Wildcats led by as many as eight points with Northwestern using an 8-0 scoring run early for a 10-2 lead. Midway through the second half, Penn State grabbed an eight-point lead at 45-37 and fended off the Wildcats' 3-point attack, but did not allow Northwestern any closer than two points.
Penn State never trailed in the second half, but back-to-back field goals by Dererk Pardon tied the game at 34 just 2:40 in. Guards Josh Reaves and Jamari Wheeler responded by sweeping through the lane, each converting a layup to put Penn State up 39-34. Vic Law nailed a three to trim Penn State's lead to 39-37 and followed a Pardon dunk with a trey to again trim Penn State's lead to three, 45-42.
Stevens gave the Nittany Lions six points, including four from the line and Wheeler drove the lane for a basket following a Miller Kopp trey and Pardon basket for Northwestern which threatened Penn State's lead. Stevens' layup after a Myles Dread steal put Penn State at 53-47 while Northwestern suffered through a three-minute scoring drought. Pardon's basket at 3:14 ended the drought and cut the lead to four, 53-49.
Just inside the two-minute mark, Stevens had a critical block to keep Penn State's lead at five, and he extended the lead to six, 56-50, following a Wildcat missed free throw with two of his own from the charity stripe. Both Stevens and Reaves had steals in the final 32 seconds of the game.
Freshman guard Rasir Bolton had 10 of his 14 points in the first half and finished the night with a career-best six rebounds. Bolton and Stevens combined to make five of the Nittany Lions' last six free throws.
The Nittany Lions took a 32-20 lead into the locker room. After starting the game 1-5 from the field, they shot 55 percent (11-20) for the rest of the first period.
Penn State had its second-straight game with 40 or more rebounds as Mike Watkins and Bolton each contributed six, a career-best mark for Bolton. Reaves had three of his game-high four steals in the second half and is now at 226, five shy of moving into the No. 2 spot on the Nittany Lion all-time list..
For Northwestern, Pardon had 18 on the night to share game-high scoring honors and Law had a double-double with 10 points and a game-best 10 rebounds.
Penn State travels next for a Thursday, Feb. 7 game at Ohio State, the final game of the two-game road trip to open the month of February. The only regular-season meeting between the Nittany Lions and Buckeyes will tip off at 7 p.m. and will broadcast by ESPN.
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.
