Stevens' surge coming at right time for Lions

Lamar Stevens is on a tear.

The Nittany Lions’ sophomore forward is playing his best basketball of the season, dropping a career-high 30 points and five rebounds against Northwestern, following with 20 points and seven boards at Indiana, then producing another 26 points and seven rebounds Friday against Nebraska. Spurring on wins for the Nittany Lions in two of the three games, a 78-63 outcome against the Wildcats and a 76-74 overtime victory against the Cornhuskers, Stevens will look to do the same Monday night when Penn State hosts Minnesota back at the Bryce Jordan Center.

Penn State head coach Patrick Chambers and the Nittany Lions, seeking to string together back-to-back wins for the first time in the conference schedule this season, believe Stevens to be capable of doing just that.

“Here's the thing about Lamar, he's playing consistent basketball right now where we are really relying on him to be one of our top scorers,” said Chambers. “He's bringing great energy, he's bringing great leadership and we need to count on that for 40 minutes.”

Given the absence of junior wing Josh Reaves, whose academic eligibility remains in doubt in advance of Monday night’s game, Stevens’ surge is a welcome development for the Nittany Lions.

And to teammate Tony Carr, the surge is directly tied to the confidence Stevens is playing with right now. Specifically able to see his 3-pointers going through the bottom of the net, hitting 5-of-9 from deep in the past three games, Carr said that Stevens becomes an impossible guard for most opponents.

“I feel like when Lamar's three-point shot is falling, he's unstoppable because he's physically bigger and stronger than most guys that are going to be guarding him,” said Carr. “And when his three is falling, it's kind of like pick your poison.”

Through the first six games of Big Ten play, Stevens’ production has been exactly that.

Now third among all Big Ten scorers in conference play at 19.5 points per game (117 points in six games), Stevens is knocking down 55.2 percent of his shots from the floor to go along with his 5.3 rebounds per game.

A recipe for future success, Chambers indicated the key for Stevens will be simply to maintain the same approach and determination that has brought him to this point.

“It's about that consistency,” said Chambers. “As long as Lamar comes every day with a great approach and he's real consistent, he is really talented. You can see the player development. He's gotten bigger, he's gotten stronger, he's extended his range, he's using his left hand more, everybody is pushing him right but he can go left now. So he is playing really good basketball.”

At 3-3 in Big Ten play and 13-6 overall, Penn State will welcome Minnesota (13-6, 2-4) to the BJC Monday for a 7 p.m. tip.