Penn State men’s basketball (12-16, 5-12 Big Ten) took on the Maryland Terrapins (21-8, 12-6 Big Ten) at the Bryce Jordan Center on Wednesday evening and cruised its way to a 78-61 victory.

Junior forward Lamar Stevens led all scorers with 24 points on 9-17 shooting. Myles Dread contributed 17 points and Myreon Jones chipped in 10 of his own in the Wednesday night matchup.

How It Happened

The Nittany Lions found themselves clicking both offensively and defensively after the first five minutes, leading 14-5 behind an early eight points from Myles Dread. An early 5-7 shooting start is exactly what the Lions needed if they were going to be able to put turtle soup on the menu after this one.

Penn State maintained its nine-point advantage through the second media timeout at 11:44 left to go in the first half, leading by a score of 18-9 at the stoppage. Mike Watkins found his way to the rim for an exciting dunk that kept the crowd excited.

Myles Dread reached 10 points shortly after the timeout but picked up a foul that got Pat Chambers fired up when it looked like the referees wanted to award free throws. By the time the clock next stopped with 7:31 left in the first half, the lead had ballooned to 16 points. The Lions now led by a score of 27-11 behind Dread’s early 15.

Rasir Bolton hit the Terps with a nice move at around the 5:47 mark to push the score to 31-16. Maryland kept making baskets, but nowhere near fast enough to keep up with a Lions team who really seems to have found a new energy.

The threes just kept falling for Penn State, with Josh Reaves and Myreon Jones contributing to the 5-11 mark as a team in the first half. The Lions took a 42-20 lead into halftime with Lamar Stevens and Myles Dread leading the scoring.

The second half started off with a nice Josh Reaves steal but was otherwise slow scoring as Maryland began to chip away at the lead. By the first timeout at the 15:31 mark, the score reacher 49-24 in favor of the Lions with the help of Lamar Stevens.

Lamar Stevens reached 16 points with 15:06 left in the second half after a long review of his buzzer beating jumper. Rasir Bolton tackled a Terrapin in a way that Marcus Allen could be proud of, which opened up Myreon Jones for an open three that he drained. With 11:58 left to go in the second half, Penn State lead by a score of 58-30 and it looked like Federal Taphouse was going to be giving away a lot of appetizers…

The offense just kept coming for the good guys in white, with Myreon Jones quietly reaching 10 points and Stevens adding a pair at the line to hit 20. Maryland hit a few shots and with 7:36 left in the second, the score was 64-41. Penn State still held the advantage in shooting with 24- for-49 compared to Maryland’s 15-of-41.

Maryland continued to stick around, making a combination of shots and free throws to cut the lead down to 16 points with just over six minutes left to play. This was a Lions team on a mission, however, and John Harrar started to do work like only a big man can. With 3:21 left in the contest, the score reached 74-52 and fans could look forward to their free apps…but does the Federal Taphouse serve turtle soup?

A dead-ball Myles Dread tech gave Maryland free throws and the possession arrow, which led to a Penn State timeout with 2:50 left to play. The game ended at 78-61, another win for the Lions and only make me nervous for a second or two. Maybe there’s something to the climb after all…

Takeaways

• Freshman guard Dread spent the first half Myles ahead of the competition, with 15 points to lead all scorers. Dread quieted down in the second half, only scoring two more points to finish second on the team with 17.
• The Lions relied heavily on their top three scorers: Dread, Stevens, and Jones. The trio contributed 51 of the teams points and shot a combined 17-32 from the field.
• Are the Lions streaking? This makes three in a row for them and four of the last five games. Watch out, Big Ten Tournament foes.

What’s Next

The Nittany Lions travel to Madison, Wisconsin to continue the Big Ten slate against the Badgers. Tip off is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday March 2.