Game Preview: Penn State vs. Bucknell
Coming off consecutive close victories, the Bucknell Bison (2-4) and Penn State Nittany Lions (5-1, 0-0 B1G) will face off on Friday at Sojka Pavilion.
The Bison escaped with a win against a Maryland Eastern Shore team that made a second half surge to tie the game at 55. It looked as if the Hawks would pull off a 14-point comeback.
However, Chris Hass scored six of his game-high 17 points in the final 23 seconds, including three clutch go-ahead free throws with 5.3 seconds left, sending Bucknell to a hard-fought 58-55 victory. J.C. Show added 10 more points off the bench in the winning effort.
Meanwhile, the Nittany Lions have found success behind their star senior D.J. Newbill. They have now won their last three games; the first by one point, the second by two points and the third, a comeback victory by six.
In their last game against Akron, the Nittany Lions relied on the play of Newbill, who finished 8-12 from the field and made 12-15 free throws for 29 points. Brandon Taylor tacked on 14 more for Penn State. They played a first half that coach Chambers said was “unacceptable”, and stormed back, taking down the Zips.
This matchup is going to feature a back-and-forth attack between two skilled guards. The Bison will need to rely on the play of their junior guard Chris Hass for points. He has averaged almost 17 points a game this season, six more than last season and is shooting almost 50% from the field and from the three-point line.
His opponent will be the guard across from him, D.J. Newbill, who is having a career year. Newbill is off to an all-American-like start, scoring north of 24 points per game with over five rebounds and three assists. Newbill has definitely been the key so far for the success of the Nittany Lions.
Another key to this matchup with be depth, an area Penn State looks to be favored.
Newbill has a stronger supporting cast than Hass. Shep Garner, the freshman sharp shooter, has been a major asset to Penn States’ offensive attack. Garner averages over 11 points a game and is one of the best in the country from the free throw line making almost 90% of his foul shots.
Brandon Taylor and John Johnson add size to the Nittany Lion team while Geno Thorpe has been a spark off the bench. Add in Ross Travis, who has led the team in rebounds with almost 8 per game, and the Nittany Lions are showing to be a well-rounded squad.
Meanwhile, Bucknell will be relying on Dom Hoffman (7.7 ppg), J.C. Show (6.7 ppg) and Nana Foulland (4.7 rpg). Their production has been less than the Penn State cast, but if Hass plays well, the Bison can test the Penn State defense as they did against UMES.
Bucknell is looking to continue their momentum after their close victory on Tuesday. The Nittany Lions want to keep their streak going with a win over Bucknell. With the second half of the season coming against Big Ten teams, they need to win now.
Mike Carnuccio is a freshman majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email mikeyc28@gmail.com.
