Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1541990
J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 6 17 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M FIVE YEARS AGO, 2021 The Penn State men's basketball team played its 2020-21 season under interim coach Jim Ferry, with Patrick Cham- bers having resigned the previous Octo- ber. With COVID-mitigation protocols still in place, the campaign didn't begin until late November. The Nittany Lions dropped their first three Big Ten games in December and saw their first game of the new year — a home matchup versus 10th- ranked Michigan originally slated for Jan. 9 — postponed twice and eventually can- celed. The Lions did get to face Purdue and Illinois and dropped both games be- fore finally defeating Rutgers, 75-67, on Jan. 21 at the Bryce Jordan Center for their first conference victory. Although the start of the Big Ten season was rough, the Lions did conclude the month with a rousing 81-71 win over No. 14 Wisconsin on Jan. 30 at the BJC. Led by guards Myreon Jones (20 points) and Izaiah Brockington (18 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists), Penn State earned its first vic- tory over the Badgers since 2011. "I thought that was a great team win, a great program win," Ferry said. "The resiliency of this group keeps showing, the connectiveness of this group keeps coming through. … I'm really proud of these guys." 10 YEARS AGO, 2016 Penn State's matchup against Georgia in the TaxSlayer Bowl featured a couple of teams in transition. The Bulldogs had fired Mark Richt five weeks before the Jan. 2 game in Jackson- ville, Fla., hoping that a coaching change would invigorate a program that had been consistently good but hadn't won an SEC title in Richt's last decade at the school. Meanwhile, the Nittany Lions were fin- ishing up their second campaign under James Franklin and were about to embark on an offensive overhaul, with quarter- backs coach Ricky Rahne taking over as interim coordinator following the dis- missal of John Donovan. Penn State gave fans an inadvertent sneak preview of what was to come when it was forced to insert backup quarter- back Trace McSorley into the game after Christian Hackenberg went down with a shoulder injury in the second quarter. PSU trailed 17-3 when Hackenberg was hurt, but McSorley led a spirited comeback, tossing fourth-quarter touchdown passes to Geno Lewis and DaeSean Hamilton. The Nittany Lions weren't able to fin- ish off their rally, falling to the Bulldogs, 24-17, when McSorley's desperate heave into the end zone was batted down with no time remaining. But the young quar- terback completed 14 of 27 for 142 yards after being pressed into emergency duty against one of the nation's best pass de- fenses, and his self-assurance did not go unnoticed. "I think there's a lot of confidence in what he brings to the table," Franklin said. "It was good to see him go out there and have some success. It's something to build on." 25 YEARS AGO, 2001 After sprinting to a 9-1 start during the nonconference season, the Penn State men's basketball team got hit with a hard dose of competitive reality when its Big Ten campaign began in January. No. 1 Michigan State thrashed the Lions, 98- 73, in the teams' conference opener on Jan. 3 in East Lansing, and an 86-85 home loss to Iowa followed three nights later. However, this was a resourceful Penn State squad, and it bounced back with wins over Ohio State (78-75, Jan. 10 in Columbus) and Northwestern (73-66, Jan. 13 at the Bryce Jordan Center). Better still, it closed the month with a thrill- ing 98-95 overtime victory over sixth- ranked Illinois on Jan. 31 at the BJC. The Lions had been pounded by the Illini in Champaign 11 days earlier, 92- 60, but the rematch was a very differ- ent affair. Shrugging off a first-half ankle sprain, forward Titus Ivory scored a ca- reer-best 27 points to lift Penn State to the win. "My teammates have a lot of confi- dence in me," Ivory said. "Not to be tak- ing anything away from the Illinois guys, but one-on-one, I feel like I can play with anybody." — Matt Herb This Month In Penn State Athletics History Trace McSorley came on in relief of Christian Hackenberg in the 2016 TaxSlayer Bowl and threw for 142 yards and 2 touchdowns. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL