Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/491635
POINTED UP Chambers was encouraged by Penn State's late-season success. The Lions won three of their fi- nal four games and reached the quarter- finals of the Big Ten tourney. Photo by Bill Zimmerman MEN'S BASKETBALL t began with high hopes, a 12-1 per- formance in the nonconference season having given rise to a wave of optimism heading into the Big Ten campaign. But as soon as that campaign began, every- thing unraveled for the Penn State men's basketball team. It lost 14 of its 1rst 17 conference games, and by the 1nal day of the regular season, the Nittany Lions were in desperate need of some positivi- ty. They got it. With the score tied, 76-76, at Minnesota on the 1nal Sunday of the regular season, D.J. Newbill hit a buzzer- beating 3-pointer to give Penn State a stunning victory. A few days later at the Big Ten tourna- ment in Chicago, the 13th-seeded Nittany Lions built on that momentum, defeating Nebraska (68-65) and Iowa (67-58) en route to an appearance in the quarterfi- nals. There they fell, 64-59, to fourth- seeded Purdue, but not before finally tasting the success that had proven so elusive throughout the conference sea- son. With Newbill having made a poignant exit – television cameras captured the senior hunched over crying, head buried in his jersey following the season-ending loss to the Boilermakers – and the gas tank on empty, head coach Patrick Cham- bers decided to forgo a second consecu- | I FIGHT TO THE FINISH Strong showing at Big Ten tournament rekindles optimism as o-season begins