STATE COLLEGE —
Nick Colella knocked the ball loose from an opponent, and two teammates followed him to the floor to save the ball for Penn State.
The Nittany Lions have worked hard all season – though they now have two wins over the last 10 days to show for their scrapes and floor burns.
After an 0-14 start, coach Patrick Chambers’ scrappy club is finishing strong with two wins in three games entering today’s regular-season finale against No. 22 Wisconsin. The 66-59 win Thursday night over Northwestern ended a 17-game Big Ten road losing streak for Penn State (10-19, 2-15) that dated back to March 2011. It was also the first road victory in two years.
“You know, I love that play. It’s a staple of who we are,” Chambers said Friday during a weekly conference call. “That’s Penn State basketball. We are laying a great foundation of things to come.”
There’s a ways to go still in Chambers’ rebuilding project, but the enthusiastic coach finally has some positive results in conference to which to point.
The 84-78 win over then-No. 4 Michigan on Feb. 27 snapped an 18-game conference losing streak. The Nittany Lions then got blown out by Minnesota before rebounding to beat the Wildcats.
Sasa Borovnjak has emerged as a third scorer in the lane to help guards D.J. Newbill and Jermaine Marshall. He posted 15 points and a career-best 10 rebounds against Northwestern for his first career double-double.
Also, shooting has improved of late with the Nittany Lions hitting 40 percent from 3-point range in four of their last six games.
“What I’ve always said is you earn the right to make shots. We’re finally earning the right,” Chambers said. “With sharing the ball, they’re getting more uncontested shots ... Now you’re seeing higher-percentage looks.”
Newbill and Marshall are also finally growing more accustomed to the ball-handling duties they had to assume after point guard and leading scorer Tim Frazier went down with a left Achilles injury four games into the season. That forced Penn State to make unexpected changes on the fly, most notably having combo guard Newbill slide over to take over the point for the first time in his career.
“We playing our best basketball of the year,” Chambers said. “They look like they’re having fun out there. It’s unfortunate that we’re coming down to the end here. But we’re focused on today ... and let’s see what we can do against Wisconsin.”
College
Penn State ending season strong
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Palmer to leave UPJ women’s position
Sasha Palmer will embark on a new chapter as a women’s basketball coach next month.
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MIKE MASTOVICH | Roberts, Kent State up to old tricks
George Roberts and his Kent State University teammates reached a familiar destination on Saturday afternoon, but took a somewhat different route in winning their third consecutive Mid-American Conference (MAC) regular-season title.
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College players dominate Point nominations
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Mount Aloysius sophomore Derrick Capiak nearly reached perfection to take the April nomination. -
Penn State guard leaving for pro career
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Penn State coach blasts Sports Illustrated article
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East Stroudsburg wins PSAC championship
Senior Brian Ernst threw eight innings without allowing an earned run on just two days rest and East Stroudsburg University used a five-run fifth inning to secure its first PSAC baseball championship since 1971 with a 7-1 win over defending champion West Chester on Saturday at Point Stadium.
The Warriors (33-16), who set a school record with their 33rd win, earned the PSAC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament thanks in large part to an outstanding effort by Ernst, who was named the PSAC Tournament MVP. -
Millersville players help couple resuscitate ailing child
The Millersville University baseball team came up with a great save this week, but it had nothing to do with the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference tournament being played at Point Stadium.
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