Penn State Falls to Michigan, Continues Big Ten Drought

Story posted January 15, 2014 in CommRadio, Sports by Uriah Tagle

Another Big Ten game means another Big Ten loss for Penn State.

In a contest where the Nittany Lions never led, the Michigan Wolverines defended their home court at the Crisler Center, with an 80-67 win. With the loss, Penn State falls to 9-9 on the season and 0-5 in the Big Ten. Michigan remains unbeaten in the Big Ten, improving to 12-4 overall.

The Nittany Lions began the game by turning the ball over on their first four possessions, with three of those turnovers coming before the squad registered a field goal attempt. As a result of the sloppy play, Michigan jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead and never looked back. Freshman guard Derrick Walton Jr. scored the first eight points for the Wolverines, eventually finishing the night with 16, on 6-9 shooting.

Despite early mistakes, Penn State finished the first half on an 8-3 run, cutting the Michigan lead to 40-33, heading into the locker room.

In a season plagued by poorly executed second halves, another rough second half performance came as no surprise for Penn State. After seeing their lead cut to just two with 16:20 remaining, Michigan went on a 12-2 run, capped by a vicious alley-oop from Caris LeVert to high-flyer Glenn Robinson III. Robinson finished the night with 15 points and five rebounds.

Following the big Michigan run, the Nittany Lions came within eight, after leading scorer D.J. Newbill heated up halfway through the period, scoring 11 of his 17 points in a three minute stretch. The second half scoring was encouraging for Newbill, who struggled getting his shots to fall in the first half.

In addition to Newbill, Penn State’s scoring was paced by Tim Frazier and Donovon Jack. Frazier finished with 17 on 7-12 shooting, and Jack finished with 12, including a banked three from the top of the key in the first half.

Michigan leading scorer Nik Stauskas also heated up in the second half, scoring 13 of his 21 in the final 20 minutes. The sophomore guard shot 7-12, including 3-8 from behind the three-point line.

For Michigan, the schedule ahead looks daunting, with their next three contests coming against #3 Wisconsin, #14 Iowa, and #4 Michigan State.

Pat Chambers and the Nittany Lions will once again look for their first Big Ten win of the season in West Lafayette, Indiana, against the Purdue Boilermakers on Saturday, January 18th. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

Uriah Tagle is a junior majoring in communication arts and sciences, and economics. To contact him, email uriahtagle@gmail.com.

Photo Courtesy: (AP Photo/Tony Ding)