Stevens Scores Game-High 29 as Penn State’s Rally at Indiana Falls Short

By Kenny Varner Jr.
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Updated: February 23, 2020

Courtesy of GoPSU sports

Senior forward moves to No. 2 on Penn State’s all-time scoring list

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Penn State men’s basketball senior forward Lamar Stevens led all scorers with 29 points and moved into second place all-time on Penn State’s career scoring list, but the Nittany Lions fell in a tough Big Ten road matchup at Indiana, 68-60, Sunday, Feb. 23. Stevens scored his 23rd point in the second half to move ahead of former Nittany Lion All-American Jesse Arnelle (2,138 points; 1951-55). The Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, product now has 2,145 career points.

“Lamar Stevens was great today, but he needs help,” said Penn State men’s basketball coach Patrick Chambers. “We can’t play that way. When we are successful, we’re sharing the basketball, and multiple guys get double figures. If we’re relying on one guy…and, did he put us on his back, and he was in foul trouble. I’m proud of my team. We didn’t start out well, give Indiana credit, give Archie credit, they jumped us early.”

Penn State erased a 13-point halftime deficit as 10-of-12 shooting from the field fueled a 24-5 run after halftime gave PSU a 48-42 lead at the 12:17 mark. Myles Dread made a pair of three-pointers and scored his 10 points during the run.

“We came out of halftime and really punched back,” Chambers said. “And that is everything, that’s everything you want to see. The character of your team, you want to see them punching back…and we did that…Things weren’t going our way, we, but we competed until the end. You want to be in a one or two possession game with four minutes to go, and we were right there.”

Indiana responded with a rally of its own to retake the lead 55-48, but Penn State came right back with two field goals and added two free throws by Jamari Wheeler, to trim to the Hoosier lead down to 57-54 with 4:17 to play.

The Nittany Lions outscored the Hoosiers 36-31 in the second half, but couldn’t get any closer than five points in the final 3:15. Indiana did not have a single field goal in that period, but made nine free throws over the final two minutes to secure the 68-60 victory.

The Hoosiers opened the game by making their first five shots to grab a 14-5 lead in the opening minutes. The Nittany Lions went without a field goal for over six minutes after an early 4-4 tie.

Indiana’s strong shooting expanded its lead to 24-8 after Stevens went to the bench after picking up his second personal foul at 10:40 and the Nittany Lions had turnovers on back-to-back possessions. Penn State countered with a 10-2 spurt to bring the score to 26-18 with 4:31 before the break.

Hoosier Devonte Green hit three three-pointers during a 11-0 Indiana scoring stretch to for a 37-28. Penn State, though, rattled off six-straight points to cut the lead to 37-24 headed into halftime.

Aljami Durham led three Hoosiers in double figures with 14 points while Trayce Jackson-Davis had 13 points and tied for a share of the rebounding lead with 10.