UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The Penn State men's basketball team's (16-5, 6-4) strong second half propelled the Nittany Lions to an 76-64 win over Nebraska (7-15, 2-9) Saturday night. In the win, Lamar Stevens became just the third Nittany Lion to score 2,000 career points in program history.
Stevens and the Nittany Lions began the second half on a 15-4 run to take a 53-37 lead and didn't look back en route to their fourth-straight victory and first vs. Nebraska in Lincoln since 1995. Sophomore guard Myles Dread and senior forward Mike Watkins combined for 25 of the Nittany Lions' 33 points off the bench with 22 coming in the second half.
A force on both ends of the floor, Watkins finished with the 32nd double-double of his career with 11 points and 17 rebounds, 12 on the defensive end. Thanks in part to Watkins, Penn State dominated on the boards, 49-38, and he added two blocked shots to his totals.
Dread led Penn State in scoring with 14 points, connecting for four of Penn State's 10 3-pointers. Stevens and sophomore guard Myreon Jones each had 13 to help pace PSU.
"This is a scary game to me," said Penn State men's basketball coach Patrick Chambers. "I've watched a lot of tape on Nebraska…any team that can make that many threes puts fear in you as a head coach. We were fortunate that we were shooting the ball well. Nebraska definitely jumped us early in the first 10 minutes there and I was proud of my guys the way they responded because on the road you never know what is going to happen. I thought our defense got us back in the game and we did a good job defending and rebounding for the most part in the half court."
Defensively, Penn State held Nebraska to 38.7 percent shooting from the field and the effort on the defensive glass limited the Huskers chances on the offensive end. Nebraska was the third-straight team Penn State has held below 40 percent shooting.
The Nittany Lions opened the second period going 4-5 from the floor and then added two field goals from Watkins. Penn State built a 20-point lead at the midway mark as Nebraska's first back-to-back baskets came at the 12:06 mark and then the Huskers' endured another four-minute stretch without a field goal.
Husker Matej Kavas and Burke attempted to whittle away at the Nittany Lion lead. Kavas scored all eight of his points in the second half. Arop's four points at the end of the game settled the final margin at 12 after Watkins' alleyoop gave him 11 points on the night.
Penn State combatted a fast Husker start with seven three-pointers in the first half. Junior guard Jamari Wheeler, Dread and Myreon Jones each had 3-pointers along with a Watkins' jumper to dig the Nittany Lions out of an early 9-2 and then 11-5 hole. Myreon Jones' trey knotted the score at 13 at 14:09. It would be another two minutes before the Nittany Lions took the lead for good at 21-20.
After the under-12 media timeout, after Penn State used a 6-0 run to go up 27-20. Where Haanif Cheatham got Nebraska going early, Dachon Burke sparked the Huskers, making three of his next four baskets. Burke's 3-pointer pulled Nebraska within one, 30-29, with 4:21 left in the half. Field goals by Stevens and freshmen Seth Lundy, who scored his five points in the final two minutes of the first half, gave PSU a 38-33 lead going into the locker room.
Cheatham led Nebraska with 15 points, 10 in the first half, and added eight rebounds as three Huskers scored in double figures.
Stevens' 2000-career point milestone came with 3:13 left in the first as the senior scored his sixth point of the half to become the third Nittany Lion in program history to eclipse the mark. Stevens joins Jesse Arnelle (1951-55) and all-time leading scorer Talor Battle (2007-11) on that list.
"It is just a blessing," said Stevens when asked about the 2000-career point milestone. "I'm just grateful for every opportunity I get to play with these guys. This accomplishment is a credit to my teammates and my coaches for believing in me and thank God for allowing those shots to go in."
Watkins' 17 rebounds Saturday give him 503 rebounds in Big Ten Conference play, passing John Amaechi's 496 total from 1992-95, for most in Penn State history.
The sixth conference win of the season for Penn State secured a fifth-straight year with at least six league wins, a program first. The Nittany Lions' 6-4 Big Ten Conference record marks only the third time the program has had a winning league record at the 10-game mark, joining the 1995-96 (8-2) and 2008-09 (6-4) teams.
