Penn State men’s basketball head coach Pat Chambers doesn’t like to refer to any one game as a “must-win,” but Saturday’s contest against Ohio State was about as important as it gets for the Nittany Lions.

“I think you have got to win your home games. If you look across the Big Ten, it’s going to be very difficult to win on the road, so you have to win your home games,” Chambers said. “Now, with saying that, was it a must win? I don’t believe in that. I believe there’s a lot of basketball yet to be played. Was this the start? We have 13 games left now so there’s still a lot of time, but it was great to get it.”

Facing a team it lost to 106-74 the last time they played, Saturday’s game had a lot riding on it for Penn State. A loss would’ve meant the fourth consecutive dropped game for the Nittany Lions and a 2-5 record in the Big Ten with a trip to Michigan on the horizon — not a great position to be in, to say the least.

Luckily for Penn State, though, it doesn’t have to worry about any of this. The Nittany Lions led for nearly the entire game (besides the first 2:30) and dominated in virtually every facet. In terms of who led the way for Chambers’ squad, you don’t need to look any further than Lamar Stevens.

The senior forward did exactly what he needed to do: lead the way for his team in a game it needed to win desperately. For him, the pregame message to his teammates was clear.

“The message to the team [was] that we need to want it more, and show it. I think we did that,” Stevens said. “You could tell that we really wanted to win this game, and I think that needs to be a consistent thing. You can’t just want it when you’ve lost three in a row, you need to do it like that every single night.”

From the tip, there wasn’t any doubt how badly the Nittany Lions wanted this win, especially Stevens. Despite playing just about 21 minutes due to foul trouble, the Philadelphia native had his mark all over this game. He finished the afternoon with a team high 24 points, shot 7-12 from the field, and added two blocks and a steal on the defensive end.

Perhaps the most impressive piece of that gaudy stat line is the fact that Stevens played just 21 total minutes. He picked up a few quick fouls in the first half and was forced to sit, and then picked up his third in the opening seconds of the second half. Even with the extended time on the bench, Stevens still managed to be Penn State’s most effective offensive player by a wide margin.

Stevens’ patented fadeaway jumper was essentially unguardable for any of the Buckeyes’ defenders, as they were forced to foul him on several occasions. Unfortunately for Ohio State, though, the senior shot a perfect 8-8 at the charity stripe.

The star’s biggest bucket of the afternoon didn’t come until there was 2:25 left in the game. It was a ferocious dunk that put Penn State up 79-65 and served as the proverbial nail in the coffin for Chris Holtmann’s squad.

In a season that will still likely have its ups and downs for Stevens and Penn State as a whole, his experience and leadership is invaluable to this team. While he won’t be able to put up big-time numbers like he did Saturday in every single game, he can always serve as a resource in the Nittany Lions’ practices and in-game huddles.

For the senior, he understands just how important having a veteran presence is in the sport of college basketball.

“I think it’s harder to win with just young, five-star recruits,” Stevens said. “It’s proven that now you need older guys, guys that stick around. The senior-led teams are usually the most successful and consistent early on.”

Penn State clearly has a star and a leader in Stevens, and right now he couldn’t be happier with how his team is playing.

“I think we’re definitely one of the best teams in the country when we play at this level,” Stevens said.