Penn State men’s basketball (6-5, 0-2 Big Ten) took on Duquesne (8-3) on Wednesday night. A second-half surge led by Lamar Stevens was enough for the visiting Nittany Lions to squeak by the Dukes, but it wasn’t always pretty.

Ultimately, the game lacked the ending it perhaps deserved after Duquesne head coach Keith Dambrot was given two technical fouls after arguing a foul call with five seconds remaining in the game. Rasir Bolton and Lamar Stevens hit six-straight free throws to put Penn State back into the winner’s column.

How It Happened

Lamar Stevens opened up the scoring with a mid-range jumper to give the Nittany Lions an early 2-0 lead. Sincere Carry was hot for the Dukes early on, tallying five points by the first media timeout to give the home team a 7-6 lead. 

Rasir Bolton tied things up with 11:35 left to play in the half, hitting a three off of the backboard to make it 12-12. The freshman followed up that bucket with a finish in the paint to give the Nittany Lions a 14-12 lead by the second media timeout.

Both squads turned the ball over like crazy in the first 10 minutes of the game. At the midway point in the first half, Duquesne had squandered six possessions and Penn State had wasted seven. The Dukes’ full-court press seemed to give the Nittany Lions all sorts of problems. 

A Miles Dread three pushed Pat Chambers’ squad out to a 21-19, but the Dukes responded with a 9-3 run. At the half, the Dukes led 39-32 behind 13 points from Eric Williams Jr. and 10 points from Carry. Penn State, meanwhile, didn’t have a scorer in double-digits, and Mike Watkins and Lamar Stevens combined for just five points.

It took 2:25 for the first basket to be scored in the second half as the Nittany Lions got on the board, and a few baskets brought the visitors within two. Lamar Stevens came out strong in the second half, scoring seven points within the first eight minutes of the period, tying the game up at 45 apiece in the process.

Rasir Bolton drilled a three with just over 11 minutes remaining in the game, giving Penn State a 50-47 lead. Lamar Stevens threw down a huge dunk to put Chambers’ team up by five in a sudden swing in momentum. 

In just 1:05, the Dukes managed to go on a 10-0 run resulting in a 59-55 lead. Penn State responded with a 7-2 run, though, retaking the lead at 62-61 at the final media timeout. 

With less than a minute to play, Carry missed a layup that would’ve tied the contest up at 67-67. On the ensuing play, Stevens was fouled but missed both free throws. 

Takeaways

• Penn State seemed ill-prepared to deal with Duquesne’s full-court press. The Nittany Lions turned the ball over twelve times in the first half alone and were clearly flustered in the face of the pressure.
• The Nittany Lions need Josh Reaves to score. The veteran scored just three points in the game, which simply won’t be enough when Big Ten play resumes.
• The last five seconds of this back-and-forth game were completely ruined by Dambrot’s meltdown on the sideline. The head coach had plenty of time to draw up a play after the foul call, but sacrificed the opportunity.

What’s Next

The Nittany Lions will travel to Tuscaloosa to take on Alabama on Friday, December 21 at 9 p.m. You can catch the game on the SEC Network.