Blue White Illustrated

PSU perseveres in recent victories Nittany Lions stop Delaware State in overtime, improve to 6-4 PATRICK CHAMBERS alking into the media room following Penn State's 80-76 escape against Delaware State on Dec. 15, head coach Patrick Chambers continued to exude positivity. His players had just blown a 16point second-half lead against the visiting Hornets, and Chambers and his players were feeling a jumble of mixed emotions. Giving up 10 3-pointers to one of the worst shooting teams in the country was bad enough, but finding themselves forced into an overtime frame after leading by 10 points just three minutes earlier was even more frustrating. Still, the Lions had maintained their composure and pulled out a victory. Prior seasons had been marred by painful nonconference losses, but this time Penn State avoided that fate, exhibiting a sense of pride in the process. "I'm proud of this group," Chambers said. "They were down three, and you know what? They could have folded the tents. They could have said, 'Oh, woe is me. We lost this game. I can't believe it.' "Last year, Lafayette, the year before, Maine, but this year, no… That's progress. That's what I'm taking out of this game. I'm trying to be positive." The Nittany Lions are struggling to score, averaging only 61.0 points per game, a figure that, as of this writing, ranked 291st out of 345 Division I teams. They are playing soft perimeter defense, having allowed opponents to shoot 39.1 percent from 3-point range through their first 10 games, and they are hitting only 39.0 percent of their own shots. Still, Chambers has reason to be positive. Sporting a 6-4 record, his Nittany W "Nobody thought we'd win a game [without Tim Frazier]. We just won three, so there's something positive right there." Tim Owen Lions managed to earn four victories after losing star senior point guard Tim Frazier in November, all while adjusting to new roles that often involve playing out of position. "I would say they know their roles. We've just got to get better at our roles, and we're trying," Chambers said. "We've just got to be confident in doing it, and we've got to continue to do it in practice. We've got to practice the way teams are playing us, and that's what we're trying to do, to put them in those situations. Hopefully we continue to get better." In Frazier's absence, guards D.J. Newbill and Jermaine Marshall have led the way in scoring, averaging 15.6 and 15.1 points per game, respectively. They've also needed to step up as leaders, as Frazier has been confined to a scooter since having surgery to repair his ruptured Achilles tendon. Small forward Ross Travis has carried a heavy load, too. Through 10 games, he was averaging 33 minutes to go along with his team-high 7.6 rebounds per game. "[Ross] welcomes that challenge," Chambers said. "He wants to be a big-time player, and big-time players want to be challenged and they want to play. He doesn't care what position he is, he just wants to be on the floor, and he's gotta continue to do that." Meanwhile, Chambers continues to try to elicit all he can from his big men, Sasa Borovnjak and Jon Graham, who average a combined 5.8 points per game, and true freshman forward Brandon Taylor. Though he's still playing himself into better shape, Taylor's minutes have increased to more than 20 per game and are likely to climb even further as the Nittany Lions head into their Big Ten slate. The Lions are going to need maximum effort from everyone now that the Big Ten season is about to begin. They are getting set to face a conference lineup that boasts six of the nation's top 25 teams. Chambers acknowledged that the conference season will pose a giant challenge for everyone in the program, players and coaches alike. But he's seen some encouraging signs as he and his team brace for what lies ahead in the coming months. "Nobody thought we'd win a game [without Frazier]," he said. "We just won three, so there's something positive right there. ... Forever the optimist."

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