Penn State Tops No. 4 Maryland 76-69Penn State Tops No. 4 Maryland 76-69
Mark Selders

Penn State Tops No. 4 Maryland 76-69

Opens in a new window Coach Patrick Chambers Postgame Press Conference -- Dec. 10, 2019 Opens in a new window Penn State Maryland Final Box Opens in a new window Senior forward Lamar Stevens Postgame Press Conference -- Dec. 10, 2019 Opens in a new window Coach Patrick Chambers Postgame Quotes Opens in a new window Senior Lamar Stevens Postgame Quotes Opens in a new window Maryland Head Coach Mark Turgeon Postgame Quotes Opens in a new window Timelapse of win over No. 4 Maryland at Bryce Jordan Center -- Dec. 10, 2019 Opens in a new window One-On-One Interview with Lamar Stevens -- Dec. 10, 2019 Opens in a new window One-on-One Interview with Coach Patrick Chambers -- Dec. 10, 2019 Opens in a new window POSTGAME NOTES vs. No. 4 Maryland -- Dec. 10, 2019
Box Score

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's basketball team extended its home-winning streak to 10 games with a 76-69 victory over No. 4 Maryland on Tuesday night. The Nittany Lions improved to 8-2 on the season and earned its first Big Ten Conference win while topping the previously undefeated Terps.

Five Nittany Lions finished in double figures as coach Patrick Chambers picked up his 15th win over an Associated Press ranked opponent in his Penn State career.

"What a home court advantage we had tonight," said Penn State men's basketball coach Patrick Chambers. "There were situations where I couldn't hear in the huddles, I couldn't hear (when) talking to our guys on the bench. That's fantastic. I really appreciate the students. I'm proud of my team. I was concerned -- I was concerned after Ohio State; we haven't lost like that in a long time. When you lose like that, you've got to respond. Ole Miss, we responded at Syracuse. Can you respond again? (And) to watch them come out and play the way they did in the first eight minutes and really stymie Maryland, holding Maryland to 30 (in the first half) is amazing because they have so many good players and they are so well-coached."

Seniors Lamar Stevens and Mike Watkins each finished with a double-double in the Nittany Lions victory, each with 15 points with Watkins grabbing 11 rebounds and Stevens 10. Sophomore guard Izaiah Brockington scored 10 of his 14 points and had three critical steals in the second half.
 


With just under 11 minutes remaining in the game, the game's leading scorer, Anthony Cowan Jr, nailed a 3-pointer to pull the Terps within two, 52-50. On Maryland's next offensive position, Brockington snagged a pass and fed Watkins for a dunk. After a Myreon Jones basket, Brockington put the Nittany Lions up by eight, 58-50, with a steal and score of his own.

Cowan hit another deep three to trim the Nittany Lion lead to five, 58-53, before the Terps hit a lengthy spell without a field goal. Cowan's trey was the last Maryland field goal for the next six minutes and its six points in that stretch came at the free throw line. Penn State got buckets from Brockington, Myreon Jones and Stevens and free throws from the same trio to pull ahead 70-61.

Maryland whittled the Penn State lead to only five points over 40 seconds, 72-67, off an Aaron Wiggins field goal and two free throws from Eric Ayala. Brockington and Dread each converted two free throws and Cowan had two for the final, 76-69.

Penn State, which did not have a single free throw attempt through the first 35:10 of the game, made 11 free throws over the final 3:50 to secure the win.
 

The Nittany Lions headed into halftime with a 40-30 lead thanks to a Myreon Jones corner three-point buzzer beater. Cowan scored the final six points over the final six minutes of the first period for Maryland. In that same span, Dread, Wheeler, Myreon Jones and Curtis Jones each contributed field goals while Watkins had back-to-back layups. Dread had 10 of his 12 points in the first half.

Penn State opened the game on a 5-0 run as a Watkins dunk and Myles Dread deep three-pointer set the tone for a speedy first half. The Nittany Lions led by as many as 12 points in the first half.
 


Penn State continues its homestand on Saturday, December 14 at 2 p.m. ET against Alabama.

For more information about single-game tickets or the mobile flex plan for men's basketball, visit the online ticket information page 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.

GAME NOTES
Full postgame notes: https://gopsusports.com/news/2019/12/10/mens-basketball-postgame-notes-vs-no-4-maryland.aspx

  • Eight of the last nine games in the series have been decided by seven or less points and the home team has won each of the last seven contests.
  • The victory over No. 4 Maryland brought coach Patrick Chambers' total ranked wins to 15, the most ranked wins of any Penn State men's basketball coach in program history. Twelve of those have occurred in the Bryce Jordan Center.
  • This is the third win for Chambers over a No. 4-ranked team, all three at home. the first occurrence was vs. Feb. 27, 2013 vs. Michigan, 84-78, in the Bryce Jordan Center and the second a 79-75 win over Iowa on 2/17/16. The win over Maryland had the largest margin of victory over a No. 4 team at seven points.
  • This was the earliest win over a top-five or top 10 team by Penn State. The earliest top-15 win was last season over No. 13 Virginia Tech on Nov. 29, 2018.

Penn State picks up a conference home opening win for the third time in the Chambers era, first over a ranked team.