Penn State Counterpunches Past Michigan State, 75-70, in Gritty Road Clash

Being competitive at No. 16 Michigan State was never going to be enough for Penn State Tuesday night.

Riding a four-game winning streak, with a chance to notch the program’s first-ever five-game streak against Big Ten competition, the No. 22-ranked Nittany Lions were determined to take down the Spartans.

In a punch-by-punch, epic battle in East Lansing dripping with drama, the Nittany Lions did exactly that, earning a 75-70 upset to cement the program’s first win at Michigan State since 2009 and only its second all-time.

“Winning on the road in the Big Ten, and especially here, is very difficult as we all know. But I just wanted to get better tonight, and that was my message to the team. Just get better,” Chambers said. “If we get better, we focus on defending and rebounding and doing the little things, the score will take care of itself.”

After an initial spurt from the Spartans from the opening tip, surely energized following a 1-point loss at Wisconsin Saturday, the Nittany Lions did exactly that.

Falling behind 6-0 on the boards and 12-4 on the scoreboard in the game’s opening minutes, the Nittany Lions used a string of unconscious 3-point shooting from gutsy soph guard Myreon Jones to eliminate the 8-point deficit and take a lead. Maybe more important, they'd hold a +4 advantage on the boards the rest of the way.

The Nittany Lions wouldn’t rest in a game defined by its frenetic pace for both teams, first building a 31-21 lead on Jones’ fourth 3-pointer of the half (20 pts, 6 of 8 from deep), then responding when the Spartans ripped off a 7-0 run needing just 1:07 on the clock. In a first-half forcing nine Michigan State turnovers, the Nittany Lions benefited with a 16-4 edge in points off turnovers and 13 more field goal attempts than the Spartans' 25.

Retaking an 11-point advantage, only a Gabe Brown 3-pointer and a questionable technical foul charged to Chambers with just 0.4 left on the clock brought the Spartans back to a 43-37 score at the half.

Understanding what was coming, Chambers called on Penn State’s recent history with Michigan State to remind his players.

“Coach Izzo does such a great job of preparation and trying to put teams on their heels. And we were able to withstand some major runs by them, specifically in the second half,” Chambers said, recalling a 76-68 loss at Breslin Center two years ago in which his Nittany Lions held a 6-point halftime lead. “We were up at halftime and they came out and really put it to us. And that's something we talked about at halftime, like, ‘Hey, we got to come out and really compete these first four minutes.’ And I thought we did a really good job of fighting back once they took the lead and once they had the momentum.”

In the second half, the Spartans wouldn’t take long to get it.

Again jumping ahead by double-digits in the opening minutes of the second frame, an offensive dry spell for the Nittany Lions coincided with a 16-4 run for the Spartans (16-7, 8-4). Just as he’d done in the first half, Jones responded with a banked-in long 2 and a transition 3-pointer sandwiched around a Myles Dread 3 to regain a 61-55 advantage heading toward the 8-minute media timeout.

Unable to dispatch of the Spartans, led by a proud performance by senior point guard Cassius Winston (25 points, 9 assists), the Nittany Lions still had work to do. Staying within a bucket of each other, trading 3-pointers and a contested Lamar Stevens fade away into the under-4 timeout, Penn State finally secured an advantage it wouldn’t relinquish in spite of Michigan State twice cutting its deficit to 1 with under a minute to play.

Most notably, it did so on four made Stevens free throws bookending a wild Winston and-one with 11 seconds to play. Unable to finish out the play at the free-throw line, Winston’s layup and 71-70 deficit were the closest the Spartans would get the rest of the way as Stevens and Curtis Jones closed out the win at the free-throw line.

“Don't get me wrong, it's great that we got a win here. It's great that we're in the position that we're in. But if we start focusing on that, that's when you're going to slip up,” Chambers said afterward. “So we're going to focus on just getting better every single day, enjoying this quest that we're on to be the best team that we can be going into the Big Ten Tournament.”

The Nittany Lions (17-5 overall, 7-4 Big Ten) return to action Saturday when they host Minnesota (11-10, 5-6) at the Bryce Jordan Center. The game will be broadcast on BTN at 4 p.m.

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