Penn State Basketball: Nittany Lions fall short in pivotal road test against Maryland
Needing to start the new year off on the right foot, the Penn State basketball team’s shooting woes prevented it from getting a signature win at Maryland.
The Nittany Lions fell to the Terrapins 75-69, despite facing a Maryland squad that was without the services of its best player, Justin Jackson.
The main problem for Penn State was its lack of scoring, particularly from the three-point line.
Coach Pat Chambers’ side only connected on nine of its 26 three point attempts, and was unable to overcome its shooting woes down the stretch, as the Terrapins ended the game on a 19-8 run to seize the lead and the contest.
Leading the way for the Nittany Lions was forward Mike Watkins, who paced Penn State with 17 points to go along with 17 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season.
The sophomore big man from Philadelphia feasted on the Maryland frontcourt to the tune of eight points on four of five shooting in the first half, in addition to grabbing eight rebounds. For the game, Watkins was a dominant force inside as he made eight of 11 field goal attempts and played a physically demanding 35 minutes.
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The sophomore tandem of Tony Carr and Lamar Stevens combined for a total of 31 points to shoulder the brunt of the Nittany Lion offense. However, it was Carr who struggled throughout, shooting just 6-23 from the floor in the loss.
As for the hosts, Maryland was lead by guard Anthony Cowan, who played the full 40 minutes and lead all scores with 18 points. He was aided by Bruno Fernando, who chipped in 17 points and 11 boards to bolster the Terrapins post presence.
One thing that the Nittany Lions were successful in doing on Tuesday was taking away one of the best sharpshooters in the country.
Maryland’s sophomore sensation Kevin Huerter was off the floor for most of the first half due to early foul trouble, and that was a big reason why Penn State held a four-point halftime lead.
Most of the damage from Huerter was committed in the second half, despite the fact that he only attempted two three-pointers and missed both. The young forward still finished with 13 points and went 9-9 from the free throw line in the final 20 minutes, including a few clutch makes to stave off a late Penn State rally and seal the victory.
Penn State will return home on Friday for another Big Ten matchup with Northwestern at 8 p.m.