Hoops: Dread's Clutch Three-Pointer Lifts Penn State to Win Over Rutgers
Myles Dread rose up like he was weightless.
He wasn’t burdened by the avalanche of Rutgers momentum that had turned a 42-24 Penn State advantage at halftime into a 64-62 deficit with less than 30 seconds to go.
He wasn’t gripped by the same fatigue that other Nittany Lions dealt with, worn down by a demanding schedule and the gauntlet laid out for them by college basketball’s deepest conference.
He wasn’t shaken by what had been a 1-of-6 showing from 3-point range that night.
Dread calmly and deliberately caught a pass from Izaiah Brockington at the top of the key beyond the 3-point line, lifting up behind a screen from John Harrar and releasing a shot so pure it only tickled the basket’s netting.
“As soon as it came off his hand, I knew it was in,” Penn State coach Patrick Chambers said.
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He gave the NIttany Lions a 65-64 win, snapping a two-game skid that seemed destined to become three after Geo Baker gave Rutgers the lead with a tough fadeaway jumper with under a minute left.
Penn State called timeout, and coach Patrick Chambers called a play for his superstar, Lamar Stevens, figuring he could get fouled and head to the free throw line to tie the game. But Rutgers clogged the lane as Stevens battled for position in the post.
Past Penn State teams — those with less depth — might have forced the pass in to Stevens anyway. Not this one. The ball went to Dread, and the sophomore didn’t miss.
“I’m really proud of Myles,” Chambers said. “It took a lot of courage to want to take that shot when I told him what we were going to do.”
Dread thrives on confidence. Knowing Chambers and his teammates have the green light on when he catches the ball fuels him.
“Myles, keep shooting the ball,” Dread said his teammates tell him. “Myles, I don’t care if you're going 0-for-22, shoot to be 1-for-23.”
Dread’s shooting woes have never become quite that drastic, but he has slumped at points. He’s surged, too. When he’s in a slump, Dread’s teammates know it won’t last forever.
It is, after all, his job to make threes. That’s why he’s on the court.
“It’s my job to shoot the ball,” Dread said. “If I don’t shoot I don’t play.”
Dread’s role was more diverse on Wednesday, as Penn State played without guard Myreon Jones yet again.
Dread became a distributor in the absence of Jones, dishing out seven assists to complement his 11 points.
“I thought he made some great decisions off of that ball screen, and that was critical in getting us the lead,” Chambers said.
All seven of Dread’s helpers came in the first half, when Penn State’s offense ran over a helpless Rutgers defense, only to watch the lead it built slowly slip away in the final 20 minutes.
Baker’s jumper looked like a dagger — the final blow in a second half filled with angst for Penn State.
Until Dread rose up, with the ability to make a full half of bad basketball disappear without consequence.
“My teammates trusted me, and I did what I do best,” Dread said.
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