Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1514597
F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 4 19 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M FIVE YEARS AGO, 2019 The Penn State men's basketball team had lost eight in a row when it headed to Evanston to face Northwestern on Feb. 4. Coach Patrick Chambers kept preaching togetherness in the face of his team's extended skid, which stretched back to the beginning of the new year and had saddled the Nittany Lions with an 0-10 Big Ten record. Against the Wildcats, PSU finally broke through. The Lions got 18 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists from forward Lamar Stevens, while guard Rasir Bolton contributed 14 points and 6 boards in a 59-52 victory. "We stuck together," Chambers said afterward. "I've been talking to our guys about that for most of the season. We have one of the toughest [schedules] in the country, and these guys keep showing up … totally focused on getting better and tasting victory. That's what I saw for the last few weeks when we were close. … I'm so proud of this group for not giving in and for finding our identity, which is Penn State basketball." The victory proved to be a turning point in Penn State's season. The Nittany Lions went on to win six of their last nine Big Ten games, posting a 5-2 mark in February. 10 YEARS AGO, 2014 By all rights, Penn State's 2014 football signing day should not have been a big success. The Li- ons were still dealing with a range of NCAA sanctions that included a 20-player recruiting cap (up from 15 in the original consent decree). What's more, they had made a late coaching change, bringing in James Franklin just three weeks before the 2014 class was set to ink its letters of intent. But PSU had built some buzz by remaining competitive even after the NCAA lowered the boom, and Franklin and his staff worked fast. They managed to keep most of the previously committed pros- pects on board while adding five players from the class they had been assembling at Vanderbilt and flipping a pair of four- star recruits at the very end. Several of those players would go on to become crucial components of Penn State's turnaround in 2016. Quarterback Trace McSorley set school records for passing yards and total offense in his three seasons as a starter, while cornerback Grant Haley made the play that vaulted PSU back into the national spotlight, scoring on a 60-yard return of a blocked field goal attempt to supply the decisive points in a 24-21 victory over second- ranked Ohio State. Both had been headed to Vandy before Franklin's arrival. Included in the Lions' class were seven players who were still collecting NFL paychecks during the 2023 season: McSorley, linebacker Jason Cabinda, tight end Mike Gesicki, receiver Chris Godwin, cornerback Amani Oruwariye, linebacker Troy Reeder and safety Nick Scott. Not bad for a program that had been through more than two years of upheaval when Franklin arrived. 25 YEARS AGO, 1999 The Lady Lions' basketball team entered February ranked 21st in the Associated Press poll after reeling off four consecu- tive Big Ten victories to end the previous month, and it kept the winning streak going once the calendar page flipped, earning road victories over Wisconsin and Northwest- ern to open the month. PSU was up to No. 15 when it welcomed second-ranked Purdue to the Bryce Jordan Center on Feb. 12. Presented with an oppor- tunity to take down a national championship contender, Penn State nearly capitalized. Cen- ter Andrea Garner hit a jumper in the lane with 12 seconds re- maining to give the Lady Lions a 66-64 lead. But Purdue's Katie Douglas sent the game to over- time with a short jumper at the other end, and the Boilermak- ers escaped with a 76-74 win despite Garner's double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds). "We didn't play a good bas- ketball game, but we were still in it," coach Rene Portland said. "We got ourselves in a position for overtime, but we didn't take care of the little things." The Lady Lions wouldn't get another shot at a ranked team during the regular season, but they did finish with victories over Minnesota and Ohio State. Penn State also topped Michigan State in its Big Ten Tournament opener before falling to Illinois, 77-75, in the second round. — Matt Herb This Month In Penn State Athletics History Forward Lamar Stevens helped turn around Penn State's 2018-19 basketball season with an 18-point outburst in a 59-52 victory at Northwestern. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL