Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/290421
per game to 65.3. Four players were scoring in double figures during the nonconference season, but once Big Ten play began, the plethora of options immediately dimin- ished, forcing Frazier and second-team All-Big Ten guard D.J. Newbill to carry the load. The scoring downturn was to be expected against the higher-quality competition of the Big Ten. Still, the timing couldn't have been worse. Just as the Nittany Lions began improving defensively, their scoring options dwindled, and the results were disastrous. The Lions won only two of the 12 games in which they had only two double-figure scorers – usually Frazier and Newbill – and their season ended on a note of complete offensive futility, as they compiled a season-low point total and had only one double-figure scor- er in a 54-52 loss at Siena in the second round of the College Basketball Invitational. But with only Frazier departing, optimism for the program remains. Beyond Newbill and junior forward Ross Travis, the Lions featured five significant contributors who were in their first season of action at Penn State this past season, and all are returning for the 2014-15 campaign. Chambers is hoping that the Nittany Lions will be able to build on the progress they showed this past season and make the bigger strides that he's been looking for since his arrival. "We've just got to keep getting better, and I think we are," Chambers said. "Jordan Dickerson is getting better. Brandon Taylor is getting better. Graham Woodward is getting better. A lot of guys are getting better. The crazy thing is, I think D.J. Newbill is getting better. "We've just got to stay on that path and control what we can control – that's our effort and that's our attitude." ■ Bill Zimmerman POWER OF TWO Chambers got big performances from Newbill (far left) and Frazier, but Penn State wasn't able to parlay its backcourt strength into a winning season.