PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The Penn State men's basketball team came out with a tough win on the road at Rutgers, 66-65, Wednesday night, as senior guard Josh Reaves registered two critical blocks, including one on the Scarlet Knights' final attempt for the win with one second remaining in the game.
Reaves, who scored the Nittany Lions' final basket of the night, a dagger of a 3-pointer from the left corner, put Penn State up 66-60 at the 2:58 mark of the second half. A Caleb McConnell 3-pointer less than 30 seconds later brought Rutgers within one possession, 66-63. A Myles Johnson basket trimmed Penn State's lead to one, 66-65, but the final four Scarlet Knight attempts did not fall, including the two blocked by Reaves.
"I'm proud of my team," said Penn State men's basketball coach Patrick Chambers. "A really hostile environment and we came out and played really good the first 20 minutes and we did just enough in the second 20 to sneak out of here, steal a win. So many opportunities. I've seen Geo (Baker) make that shot all season long. I've seen Myles Johnson tip it in a few times. I've seen it. You're having déjà vu while it's happening. But we were able to get some blocks and Myles (Dread) makes a very smart, heady play by throwing it down to the other end, and we get out of here with a win."
In a tale of two halves, Penn State (13-17, 6-13) led by 18 points, 37-19, going into the locker room, the lowest point total allowed in any half by the Nittany Lions all season. Rutgers (14-15, 7-12), however, scored 19 points in the first 6:20 out of the half and outscored Penn State 46-29 in the second period. The Scarlet Knights' turned the ball over only three times in the second half and made all four of their 3-pointers after starting the game 0-10 from beyond the arc.
Scarlet Knight Ron Harper Jr. scored all 14 of his points and Eugene Omoruyi 12 of his game-high 23 points in the second half as the hot-shooting Scarlet Knights registered a 63.6 percentage from the floor in the first five minutes. That percentage cooled to 54.5 percent by the 7:47 mark and Penn State's Myles Dread responded with a steal and fast-break bucket to push the Nittany Lions' lead back to 12, 60-48.
Rutgers scored the next seven points over 34 seconds, starting with two Omoruyi free throws and ending with a Harper trey to cut the Scarlet Knights' deficit to only five, 60-55, with 6:24 to play. Omoruyi's next basket pulled the Knights within three, but was countered by Rasir Bolton, who drove the lane for his 11th point of the night for a 63-58 score.
Harper came through again for Rutgers with a two-point basket just outside the paint for a 63-60 Penn State lead with just 3:30 to play. On the other side of the court, Reaves' grabbed an offensive rebound after a missed Nittany Lion 3-pointer and buried it from the left corner for a six-point PSU lead, 66-60.
Leading up to halftime, Penn State was on a roll and connected for seven-straight baskets for a 15-2 run over a nearly five-minute stretch for a 30-16 Nittany Lion advantage. The PSU lead stretched to 17 twice and was 18 as redshirt junior Mike Watkins converted a layup right before the horn.
Junior forward Lamar Stevens lead three Nittany Lions in double-figure scoring with 18 points. Freshmen Myreon Jones and Rasir Bolton had a combined 24 points off the bench for Penn State with Jones scoring 13 and Bolton 11. Watkins pulled down 14 rebounds and moved into Penn State's all-time top 10 in that category, now with 715.
Four Scarlet Knights, led by Omoruyi's 23, scored in double figures with Myles Johnson' rounding out the quartet with 10 points and a team-best 11 rebounds. Harper accounted for 14 of the 16 points from the Rutgers' backcourt.
Penn State has at least six Big Ten Conference wins for the fourth-straight season, a program first. For the Nittany Lions, the three Big Ten road wins in 2018-19 match a program high and, for only the second time in its Big Ten history, has had back-to-back seasons with three away league victories.
Penn State returns home to celebrate alumni weekend and will hold a postgame ceremony to honor its seniors on Sunday, March 10. Tipoff is slated for noon ET.
For information or to purchase Penn State men's single-game tickets for the final home game, 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.
