UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Led by senior forwards Lamar Stevens and Mike Watkins, the No. 20 Penn State men's basketball team (11-2, 1-1) topped Cornell 90-59 on Sunday, Dec. 29 in the Bryce Jordan Center. Watkins and Stevens combined for 38 points and helped Penn State extend its home winning streak to 13 games.
Watkins went 9-10 (90 percent) to tie a program record for field goal percentage en route to a season-best 19 points. He added 10 rebounds for the 31st double-double of his career.
"I'm really proud of my team. We played a really solid nonconference, probably better than solid," said Penn State men's basketball coach Patrick Chambers. "The goal was just to get better and I felt like that was our approach, I felt like that was our mindset…and we've got to build on it now. Now you got a week and you're Big Ten games the rest of the way. I do believe our best basketball is ahead of us."
Penn State's potent frontcourt established its presence with 44 points in the paint and a 43-28 advantage on the boards. PSU shot 52.2 for the game en route and forced 17 Cornell turnovers en route to its 11th win of the season.
Four Nittany Lions finished in double-figures led by Watkins and Stevens with 19 points. Sophomore guards Myreon Jones (18) and Izaiah Brockington (11) also finished in double-figures in the victory. M. Jones was electric in the second half, scoring 14 of his 18 points and swiping three steals.
Watkins was perfect from the field in the first half, scoring 16 points on 8-8 shooting to pace the Nittany Lions. With a 4-4 outing vs. Central Connecticut State, Watkins had a skein of 12 made field goals. Stevens had added 14 points, four assists and three rebounds in the first half.
Penn State shot 54.5% in the first half and led Cornell 45-29 at the break. Stevens had 10 points in the first eight minutes of the game.
Big Red junior forward Jimmy Boeheim led Cornell with 17 points and shared the team rebounding lead with six rebounds.
Penn State travels to Philadelphia for a 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 4 game at The Palestra vs. No. 25 Iowa. The game will air on the Big Ten Network.
GAME NOTES
Full postgame notes: https://gopsusports.com/news/2019/12/29/mens-basketball-postgame-notes-penn-state-vs-cornell-dec-29-2019.aspx
- This the fourth time in Penn State's Big Ten era that they have reached 11 wins in 13 games (1995-96: 13-0; 2014-15: 12-1; 2008-09: 11-2 & 2019-20: 11-2).
- Penn State improved to 61-9 in nonconference home games under Coach Patrick Chambers with a 10-1 against non-league foes in 2019-20.
- Penn State reached the 90-point mark for the third time this season, which most recently matches the season totals in 2016-17 and 2013-14.
- The Nittany Lions end the calendar wins with double-digit wins for the fourth time in the last six seasons.
- The Nittany Lions have held 10 of their 13 opponents to 70 points or less.
- After finishing 9-10 from the field, Watkins tied a Penn State record for shooting percentage in a game (min. 10 attempts) at 90 percent. He's also the first Nittany Lion to do so twice after going 9-10 versus Iowa Feb. 3, 2018.
- Lamar Stevens registered his 98th career game with 10+ points with his 19-point effort. His 14 points in the first half marked the 10th time this season he has scored double-digit points in one period.
- Myreon Jones scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half, marking the 10th time he has reached double-digit scoring in his career. Jones finished 7-13 from the field and 3-6 from three-point range.
- Myles Dread remains perfect from the free-throw line this season at 14-14.