Penn State Earns 85-76 Win over Grand Canyon
Penn State men’s basketball was back in action at the Bryce Jordan Center for a mid-week matchup against the Grand Canyon Antelopes Tuesday night where the team earned a 85 - 76 win.
Due to injuries from veterans on the team, many of the freshman players have seen a lot of minutes lately, and Tuesday night was no different.
Freshman Lamar Stevens scored 19 points during the game and fellow freshman Tony Carr continued his double-digit scoring streak with 10 points. Upperclassmen Payon Banks and Shep Garner also chipped in with a double digit scoring performance for the Nittany Lions (2-1)
“It is the second game in a row we have had 20 assists, which is terrific. The guys are sharing the ball and we had almost five guys in double digits, which is really refreshing,” heach Coach Pat Chambers said after the game.” It is going to be tough to guard us because before it was one or two guys and now it’s five or six. That does well for our future but we need to get these guys on the same page about guarding.”
While the team had a great offensive performance, head coach Pat Chambers was impressed with the defensive effort of the team against the Antelopes (0-2)
“I thought there were good stretches and some bad stretches. I do not want to be a team that tries to outscore opponents. We are not built on that and they know it,” he said during the post-game presser. “We have to defend and rebound. It was nice to see in the second half we held them to 35 points. That’s a good step in the right direction. To play against a team like that, I think we did a good job.”
Up next for the Nittany Lions will be a real challenge, as the team takes on No. 1 Duke during the 2016 Hall of Fame Tip-Off Challenge in Connecticut this Saturday. As far as preparation for the game goes, Coach Chambers feels as if his team will be as prepared as they can be.
“Going into this weekend it’s going to be a great test to see where this program is and where it is heading. I think we are headed in the right direction. It’s going to be great to see how we respond on Saturday,” Chambers said. “We look forward to this next challenge but we have to continue to get better regardless of outcomes. No matter what happens on Saturday, these guys have to stick together and get married to the process.”
Tip-off against Duke starts at 12:30 p.m. and fans can tune in on ESPN3.
Due to injuries from veterans on the team, many of the freshman players have seen a lot of minutes lately, and Tuesday night was no different.
Freshman Lamar Stevens scored 19 points during the game and fellow freshman Tony Carr continued his double-digit scoring streak with 10 points. Upperclassmen Payon Banks and Shep Garner also chipped in with a double digit scoring performance for the Nittany Lions (2-1)
“It is the second game in a row we have had 20 assists, which is terrific. The guys are sharing the ball and we had almost five guys in double digits, which is really refreshing,” heach Coach Pat Chambers said after the game.” It is going to be tough to guard us because before it was one or two guys and now it’s five or six. That does well for our future but we need to get these guys on the same page about guarding.”
While the team had a great offensive performance, head coach Pat Chambers was impressed with the defensive effort of the team against the Antelopes (0-2)
“I thought there were good stretches and some bad stretches. I do not want to be a team that tries to outscore opponents. We are not built on that and they know it,” he said during the post-game presser. “We have to defend and rebound. It was nice to see in the second half we held them to 35 points. That’s a good step in the right direction. To play against a team like that, I think we did a good job.”
Up next for the Nittany Lions will be a real challenge, as the team takes on No. 1 Duke during the 2016 Hall of Fame Tip-Off Challenge in Connecticut this Saturday. As far as preparation for the game goes, Coach Chambers feels as if his team will be as prepared as they can be.
“Going into this weekend it’s going to be a great test to see where this program is and where it is heading. I think we are headed in the right direction. It’s going to be great to see how we respond on Saturday,” Chambers said. “We look forward to this next challenge but we have to continue to get better regardless of outcomes. No matter what happens on Saturday, these guys have to stick together and get married to the process.”
Tip-off against Duke starts at 12:30 p.m. and fans can tune in on ESPN3.
