The Nittany Lions (1-0) began their season Friday afternoon against the Campbell Camels (0-1). After going 2-0 in preseason exhibitions games against Lafayette and Bloomsburg last weekend, the Nittany Lions were able to take care of business against a Campbell team that refused to give up. The Nittany Lions beat the Camels 86-75 with Tony Carr and Josh Reaves leading the team in scoring, tallying 33 points and 15 points respectively.

How It Happened

Campbell started the game forcing Penn State to take tough shots and drew a charge on Lamar Stevens. Josh Reaves scored the first points of the season for the Nittany Lions on a put back off a missed shot.

At the first media timeout with 15:30 to go in the first period, the Nittany Lions trailed 5-3. Penn State struggled to shoot consistently, only making one of its first eight shots from the field and one of their first four foul shots. Campbell’s Andrew Eudy scored the first five points of the game for the Camels.

With 11:37 to go in the half, Penn State finally started knocking down some shots, taking a 12-9 lead over Campbell. Tony Carr made a big three pointer to get some momentum for the team, followed by a drive and score by Lamar Stevens.

Both teams played good defense in the first twelve minutes. The Camels were limited to 33% shooting and committed four turnovers, and the Nittany Lions were held to 30% shooting with only two turnovers. Penn State still managed to hold onto a slim 18-17 lead despite not being able to get into any rhythm on offense.

Penn State finally looked like they had gotten into a rhythm on offense and defense. Led by freshman guard Jamari Wheeler, Penn State was able to push the ball quickly and get some easy scores inside. Penn State started to pull away and took a 30-24 lead with 3:09 left in the first half.

The Nittany Lions took a 36-28 lead into the lockerroom at halftime. Tony Carr led the team in the first half with nine points and seven rebounds. Lamar Stevens added in eight points at the half. Campbell’s 5’9 point guard, Chris Clemons, led all scorers with fifteen points.

The Nittany Lions came out in the second half with more urgency, started with two points from the line by Julian Moore followed by an ally-oop by Josh Reaves dished out by Tony Carr.

The Nittany Lions were able to stretch their lead to double digits, leading 46-35 with 15:38 to go in the game. Tony Carr continued to do a little bit of everything for the Lions, racking up 12 points, eight rebounds, and six assists.

Penn State finally looked as if it realized it was the far superior team in this game, increasing their lead to 53-38 thanks to some greedy defense with 11:05 to go. Coach Chambers decided to go with a lineup with both Jamari Wheeler and Tony Carr, leading to some easy scores for the Lions.

Campbell’s Coach, Kevin McGeehan, got called for a technical foul with 9:13 to go in the game. Shep Garner was able to drain both free throws, extending Penn State’s lead to 61-44.

Campbell refused to go away in this game, cutting the lead down to 61-52 with 6:43 to go in the game. Lamar Stevens ended up getting his fifth foul of the game on an and-one by Campbell’s Chris Clemons. Penn State couldn’t find anything on offense, giving up an 11-0 run for Campbell cutting the lead down to six points with 5:59 to go in the game until Tony Carr asserted his dominance draining a three pointer followed by a finish at the basket after being fouled on the drive. Those six points by Carr extended Penn State’s lead up to 67-55.

Campbell continued to hang around with Penn State thanks to Lamar Stevens and Jamari Wheeler fouling out. With 2:04 to go in the game, Penn State held a 73-65 lead that felt anything but comfortable.

Tony Carr put a little razzle dazzle to get past a weak defender and finished at the rim while getting fouled to increase Penn State’s lead to 8 points with 38 seconds to go. After two foul shots for Carr, Penn State put away the Camels for good taking a 80-70 lead.

Penn State finished the game with a 86-75 victory and a good start to the season.

Player Of The Game

Tony Carr | Sophomore | Point Guard

Tony Carr flirted with a triple double the whole second half, ultimately finishing with 33 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists.

What’s Next

Penn State hosts Fairleigh Dickinson at the Bryce Jordan Center Sunday with tip-off coming at 5:00 pm. The game will be broadcasted on BTN Plus.