ROSEMONT, Ill. – Senior forward Lamar Stevens has been named the Big Ten Player of the Week as announced by the league Monday, December 16. Stevens led the Nittany Lions to back-to-back wins last week over No. 4 Maryland and Alabama. The senior from Philadelphia, Pa. has led Penn State to a 9-2 start, the best since the 2014-15 season.
The preseason All-Big Ten Conference pick recorded back-to-back double-doubles during the Nittany Lions 2-0 week as the senior captain averaged 16.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and five assists. Stevens provided several clutch baskets in the Nittany Lions' win over undefeated Maryland and was instrumental in the comeback victory over Alabama.
During the Nittany Lions' 76-69 win over the previously undefeated Terrapins, Stevens moved into fourth-place all-time on the Penn State scoring list. His career total now sits at 1,844 points. Stevens also moved into the top 10 in both rebounds (747) and blocks (104). He is one of only two Nittany Lion players with at least 1,800 career points and 700 career rebounds.
Against Alabama, Stevens finished with 18 points, 11 rebounds and set career-highs with six assists and five blocks. 13 of his 18 points came in the second half as the Nittany Lions erased a nine-point deficit with 14 minutes to play. Stevens tied the game at 63 with 5:40 remaining in the game and Penn State's leading scorer also recorded a clutch block and dished out two assists over the final minutes of the nonconference matchup.
The Big Ten Player of the Week honor is the first for Penn State in 2019-20 and the first player of the week honor for Stevens in his career. He was selected as the league's freshman of the week for the week of February 13, 2017.
Along with his Player of the Week Award, Stevens has been selected to the watch lists for both the Oscar Robertson Trophy and the Karl Malone Power Forward Award.
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