Penn State men’s basketball (10-16, 3-12 Big Ten) welcomed the Nebraska Cornhuskers (15-12, 5-11 Big Ten) to the Bryce Jordan Center on Tuesday night. The Nittany Lions breezed by the visitors behind a 29-point performance from Lamar Stevens and a terrific overall offensive display.

How It Happened

Lamar Stevens got going early on, hitting a couple of threes before the first media timeout. Along with baskets from Wheeler and Dread, Penn State led 11-4 with 15:59 to play in the first half.

Stevens extended his scoring total to eight just out of the timeout, hitting a difficult moving jumper along the baseline. The Nittany Lions played some stifling defense against the Cornhuskers as well, forcing two turnovers and leading 19-12 points at the 11:58 mark.

Chambers went small for about the next four minutes, and it worked incredibly well. At the 7:24 mark, the Nittany Lions led 31-18 after Rasir Bolton hit multiple threes and Jamari Wheeler continued to have a great half in all respects. At this juncture in the contest, Wheeler had six points, two rebounds, and three assists and seemed to be in complete control out on the floor.

Bolton remained sizzling from beyond the arc, hitting another triple to remain perfect from downtown. With 3:51 remaining in the opening period, Penn State led 38-22.

The Nittany Lions outscored the Cornhuskers 6-3 over the remainder of the half, thanks to a couple of baskets from Mike Watkins and two free throws from Lamar Stevens. Pat Chambers’ squad led 44-25 at the half as Lamar Stevens led all scorers with 16 points.

Nebraska started the second half on an 8-3 run as a full-court press from Tim Miles caused some difficulties for the Nittany Lions. Penn State responded with a 7-2 run of its own, leading 54-35 with 15:47 to play after Jamari Wheeler converted a layup through a foul.

With 13:00 remaining, the Nittany Lions led 64-41. Josh Reaves hit a wide-open three to cap off another impressive stretch for Penn State. At this point in the game, the Nittany Lions were 10-11 from the free throw line.

It hasn’t typically been the case with Penn State Hoops of late, but there wasn’t much to say about the rest of the second half. The team continued to look great, leading 74-50 with 7:53 remaining.

The final media timeout came around with 4:00 remaining with the Nittany Lions up 85-60. The result was never in question, and the most interesting parts of the second half were when the student section begged Pat Chambers to put Kyle McCloskey in the game, Josh Reaves reached 1,000 points in his Penn State career, and Daniil Kasatkin entered the game.

The Nittany Lions put Nebraska away 95-71 after getting some subs time on the court. Lamar Stevens led all scorers with 29 points, Rasir Bolton added 21, and Wheeler finished with nine points, four rebounds, and five assists.

Takeaways

• Pat Chambers went to a small lineup with Wheeler, Bolton, Dread, Reaves, and Stevens on the floor in the first half, and it worked incredibly well. Wheeler and Bolton controlled the offense as Bolton hit a couple threes and Wheeler finished inside multiple times. The offense looked the most natural it has all season with this group on the floor.
• Penn State had an excellent game from the free throw line, going 10-11 from the charity stripe. For a team that’s struggled from the line at times this season, this was a welcome sight.
• This is the team we thought we’d see this season. Hopefully, this game is a sign of good things to come.

What’s Next

Penn State will travel to Illinois to take on the Illini on Saturday, February 23 at noon. You can catch the game on BTN.