Penn State Men’s Basketball Rallies after Loss to Beat Duquesne
Penn State men’s basketball (1-1) is known for its “never give up” mentality. With a demanding schedule and a young team, Head Coach Pat Chambers has his work cut out for him, but so far the team is looking strong. This past weekend, Penn State took on both Albany and Duquesne at home in the BJC.
Friday night Penn State welcomed Albany as the first official match of the season.
Unfortunately, Albany barely got the edge over the Nittany Lions, winning 87-81.
Albany was dominant in the first half, leading by nearly 20 points.
In the second half, however, Penn State turned it up a notch and in the final seconds of the game was trailing by just a few points, 82-79.
Shep Garner (Chester, Pa.) made three free throws in those final seconds, but it was just not enough.
“We have to continue to build good habits and when you continue to work in practice you do that,” said Chambers. “We have to understand that you have to play hard from the tip and we’ll get there. I think this was eye-opening for our younger guys.”
Chambers continued on by saying that they are “going to take
Saturday already showed improvement as the Nittany Lions came out hungry for a win against Duquesne.
Saturday was also the day that the multiple Penn State freshman got their chance to shine, and shine they did.
Lamar Stevens (North Wales, Pa.) and Tony Carr (Philadelphia, Pa.) combined scored 44 points, while Mike Watkins (Philadelphia, Pa.) added 15 to contribute to the 82-74 win.
“Lamar is going to do some great things for us,” said Chambers.
Penn State led at halftime and, despite a few back-and-forth lead changes, kept a steady rise to the win for the entire game.
Coach Chambers was pleased with the quick turnaround by his team.
“I’m really proud of my team and the captains and how they responded after Friday night,” said Chambers. “Today we got back to our foundation of defending, rebounding, and getting back on the floor.”
Penn State will tip-off against Grand Canyon on Tuesday, November 15 at 7 p.m. at the BJC. Head on over to support the blue and white!
