Blue White Illustrated

March 2020

Penn State Sports Magazine

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M E N ' S B A S K E T B A L L L amar Stevens pounded his puffed-out chest, looking right into a sea of white shirts and waving arms, where months before there might have been blue seatbacks. A long-dormant fan base gave a full- throated yell as Stevens fought through con- tact to earn a three-point play, responding to a furious Minnesota rally that had cut a 19- point lead to three with 4 minutes, 48 seconds to go on Feb. 8 at the Bryce Jordan Center. Stevens helped ensure the Gophers never got that close again, as Penn State survived for an 83-77 win. The senior forward scored a ca- reer-best 33 points and steadied the Nittany Lions when disaster seemed inevitable. "Lamar had that look in his eye that a senior gets when he knows, not that you're running out of time, but you're running out of games," Penn State coach Patrick Chambers said. Stevens may indeed be running out of games as he approaches the final weeks of his final collegiate season. But he's gone a long way to- ward ensuring that his remarkable career will end in the NCAA tournament. The Lions' vic- tory over the Gophers was their sixth in a row, a streak that included a home romp over No. 21 Ohio State (90-76, Jan. 18) and impressive road wins at Michigan (72-63, Jan. 22) and Michigan State (75-70, Feb. 4). Prior to its visit to Purdue on Feb. 11, Penn State was 18-5 overall and 8-4 in the Big Ten. The Lions were tied with Illinois for second place in the conference standings, were ranked 22nd in the Associated Press poll and appeared to be well within reach of their first NCAA tournament berth since 2011. Stevens, who went into the Purdue game ranked fourth in the Big Ten with an average of 17.6 points per game, moved into third place on Penn State's all-time scoring list in a 64-49 victory over Indiana on Jan. 29. His 17 points against the Hoosiers gave him 1,994 for his career, lifting him past Joe Crispin, who had 1,986 points from 1997-2001. Stevens was also the team's leading scorer against Ohio State (24 points), Michigan (19) and Michigan State (24), hitting four free throws in the final 16 seconds against the 16th- ranked Spartans to give Penn State only its second victory in 25 visits to East Lansing. Stevens could have left PSU after his junior season but opted to return in the hope of spearheading just this sort of breakthrough. As Chambers said following the Michigan game, "Lamar Stevens came back to win." He and his teammates have been doing just that lately. And against Minnesota, it seemed as though they were about to enjoy one of their more comfortable victories of the Big Ten season, as they held a 19-point lead with 13:03 left in the second half. But the defense faltered in the wake of a barrage from Min- nesota guard Marcus Carr and forward Daniel Oturu. "Marcus put the team on his back in the sec- ond half," Minnesota coach Richard Pitino said. The duo combined for 36 second-half points and turned a Penn State victory lap in front of its first sold-out crowd in nearly a decade into a game soaked in tension. But Stevens didn't panic, because the senior who has started every game of his Penn State career has been here before. "Years before, when I was younger playing in a game like that, your mind would start rac- ing, kind of like a panic attack," Stevens said. "We were only up three and we were just up almost 20 at one point in time. But now, I just try to keep everybody composed, because I know what we're capable of." A MATTER OF TIME Senior Lamar Stevens knows the clock is ticking, and he's looking to make every second count |

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