Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1531683
F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 5 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, 2020 Penn State's men's basketball team had won four consecutive games, all against Big Ten opponents, and was ranked 22nd in the Associated Press poll when it traveled to East Lansing for a clash with 16th-ranked Michigan State on Feb. 4. The Nittany Lions had won only one of their previous 24 games at the Breslin Center, but this time was different. Forward Lamar Stevens scored 24 points, including a 4-for-4 performance at the foul line in the final 16 seconds, to propel PSU to a 75-70 victory. There were eight lead changes and six ties in the game, but Penn State out- scored the hosts 12-4 in the final 5:29 to claim a rare road victory over coach Tom Izzo's Spartans. "Any time you play here, you're going to learn something," Penn State coach Patrick Chambers said. "You're going to learn something about yourself as a coach. You're going to learn something about your players. Coach Izzo does such a great job in preparation to put teams on their heels. "We are going to continue to get better. I really believe we can get a lot better, and that's scary to me. I'm excited to get on this plane and go home and continue to work to make this team the best it can be by the end of the year." The Lions followed with wins over Minnesota (83-77, Feb. 8), Purdue (88-76, Feb. 11) and Northwestern (77-61, Feb. 15). By the end of the regular season, they had compiled a 21-10 record and an 11-9 mark in the Big Ten, their best showing in nine seasons under Chambers. They were poised to earn an at-large invitation to the NCAA Tournament, but that was before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the postseason just as PSU was warming up to face Indiana in its Big Ten Tournament opener. 10 YEARS AGO, 2015 The Penn State wrestling team was in the midst of a rebuilding year in 2015, and it wasn't able to pull off an upset of Iowa when the top-ranked Hawkeyes visited the Bryce Jordan Center on Feb. 8. The Nittany Lions fell, 18-12, in front of 15,967 fans, the second-largest crowd for a dual meet in NCAA history. However, those fans did get to see four Penn State wrestlers earn wins over op- ponents that were ranked among the top seven at their respective weight classes. Unranked Garett Hammond pulled off the evening's biggest upset, topping No. 7 Nick Moore of Iowa, 4-2, at 165 pounds. The redshirt freshman from Chambersburg, Pa., broke a 2-2 tie with a takedown in the final seconds, helping Penn State draw within six points of the Hawkeyes in the team scoring. Third- ranked Matt Brown followed with a 2-0 shutout of Iowa's second-ranked Mike Evans at 174. When No. 4 Mor- gan McIntosh defeated No. 6 Nathan Burak, 7-1, at 197, the Nittany Lions found themselves trailing by only three points, 15-12. But sixth-ranked Jimmy Lawson dropped a 3-0 decision to No. 2 Bobby Telford in the heavyweight bout, and the Hawkeyes escaped State College with a victory. 25 YEARS AGO, 2000 The Lady Lion basketball team went undefeated in February, and only two of its victories — road wins at Wisconsin (57-52, Feb. 5) and Ohio State (56-50, Feb. 26) — were by single digits. On Feb. 13, Penn State completed a reg- ular-season sweep of defending national champion Purdue, winning 78-67 at the Bryce Jordan Center. Ranked sixth at the time, the Lady Lions got 17 points and a career-high 15 rebounds from forward Maren Walseth, while guard Lisa Shep- herd chipped in 16. Fifteenth-ranked Purdue had won eight in a row but struggled in the BJC. The Boilers were outrebounded 48-32 and were held without a field goal in the final 5:25. They would get their revenge in March, defeating PSU in the champion- ship game of the Big Ten Tournament, but the Lady Lions were unfazed. By that point, they were only a few weeks away from reaching the Final Four for the first time in program history. — Matt Herb This Month In Penn State Athletics History Lamar Stevens scored 24 points to lift Penn State past Michigan State, 75-70, in February 2020. It was only the Nittany Lions' second victory in 25 visits to East Lansing. PHOTO BY RYAN SNYDER