Nittany Lions' Clutch Performance, Momentum Earned With Minnesota Up Next
The moment wasn’t too big for Penn State Tuesday night in East Lansing.
Facing Michigan State, the nation’s No. 16-ranked team, at its home court, a place at which the Spartans had only previously lost once this season, the Nittany Lions responded to every challenge. Seeing a 10-point second-half lead evaporate into a tie, then deficit, three times, Penn State’s composure exhibited itself repeatedly and especially in the game’s final stretch.
From Lamar Stevens’ contested fadeaway to take a 1-point advantage, a beautiful ball-movement dump-off to John Harrar for a trip to the free-throw line, and when it mattered most, four Stevens free throws sandwiched around Cassius Winston’s clutch basket, Penn State was game for all of it. So much so that in emerging with a 75-70 win, even head coach Patrick Chambers couldn’t deny his team’s timely playmaking.
“For the first time, I really believe the last four minutes we executed offensively and defensively,” Chambers said, praising Winston’s performance. “But also give us credit on the other end. I thought Lamar made big plays for us. (They were) some really great plays by a team that was totally laser-focused on the task at hand.”
Thursday afternoon, Stevens stressed that the Nittany Lions’ (17-5 overall, 7-4 Big Ten) in-the-moment focus wasn’t a coincidence.
Previewing the No. 22-ranked Nittany Lions matchup with Minnesota (12-10, 6-6) at the Bryce Jordan Center Saturday afternoon (4 p.m., BTN), Stevens reflected on the work that went into his preparedness for the big moment.
“I’ve played a lot of games. I think just mentally preparing myself in the offseason and workouts when the lights aren't on. I think that's what prepares me for that, just being mentally ready for any situation,” Stevens said. “I think coach does a great job of putting us through situations like that throughout the year in practice. I just thought back to all the times when I've done it in practice, done it in my workouts, and I just was confident and believed in myself because I knew I put in the work.”
Hoping to avenge a loss at Minnesota Jan. 15, one that capped a three-game losing streak against Big Ten opponents and plunged the Nittany Lions to 2-4 in the league, Stevens is confident that his teammates could say the same thing.
Now sitting in fourth place in the conference standings, just one win behind eight-game winners Maryland, Illinois and Michigan State, the Nittany Lions’ five-game winning streak is matched only by the Terrapins’ recent successes in the Big Ten.
Echoing the sentiments of head coach Patrick Chambers, that momentum is real and, maybe more important, earned, Stevens insisted that Penn State now has it and is capable of keeping it. And with it, he added, the ramifications could be far-reaching and long-lasting.
“I definitely believe in momentum,” said Stevens. “I don't think momentum is luck and I don't think it's something that just happens, I think it's something that you prepare for starting in the summer and work hard for. And you got a group of guys that all believe in one vision, and (are) willing do whatever it takes to get to that point. And I think we have that. We have selfless guys that are willing to do whatever it takes or play any amount of minutes for one common goal. And I think, you know, with the team that we have, that's what we're building here and I think that momentum that we're building is program-changing.”
Centered on producing those results through a focus on the here-and-now, though, the Nittany Lions are keeping their sights set on what is immediately in front of them.
“That's what it's got to be moving forward. We had a good workout this morning,” Chambers said. “Stay present, stay in the moment, focus on us, continue the process of getting better. And when we do that, and we don't look forward, positive things are happening.”
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