Penn State Basketball: Nittany Lions dominate Ohio State in season-defining win

It’s been seven years since the last time Penn State qualified for the NCAA Tournament

Now, the Nittany Lions are the closest they’ve been to the Big Dance since that 2011 season.

In its biggest home game in years, Penn State jumped out to an early 14-4 lead and dominated No. 8 Ohio State from start to finish en route to blowing the Buckeyes out of the Bryce Jordan Center, 79-56.

The Nittany Lions were lead by 30 points from sophomore point guard Tony Carr, and played what was easily their finest game in recent program history from the opening tip.

The victory marks the first ever 19-win season for coach Patrick Chambers, and was the seventh win in eight games for the Nittany Lions.

Playing in front of what was easily the loudest crowd of the season, Penn State dictated play from the start and seemingly got whatever they wanted on the offensive end.

The Nittany Lions were paced by great early shooting from Carr and senior Shep Garner, but also got after it on the defensive side of the ball, leading to a plethora of Buckeye turnovers and easy buckets in transition.

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The hosts shut down the Ohio State attack, holding the Buckeyes to just 21 first-half points on their way to a 45-21 halftime lead.

Penn State was able to hold the leading scorer in the Big Ten, Keita Bates-Diop in check for the entire night thanks to the great defense of junior guard Josh Reaves. The Ohio State forward was held to just 10 points — well below his season average of nearly 20 points a game.

The Nittany Lions picked up in the second half right where they left off in the first, as Carr one of his four three-pointers early on, and Garner followed that up with two of his own to stretch the lead to 30 points.

While Ohio State managed to decrease the deficit later in the second half, the Penn State lead proved to be insurmountable. Ohio State cut it to 16 before the Nittany Lions rebounded thanks to key buckets from Carr and sophomore forward Mike Watkins.

From there, the Penn State defense picked up its intensity again and refused to give up anything easy. The Nittany Lions were outstanding defensively, as they held the visitors to their lowest point total in Big Ten play thus far.

Carr moved into a tie with Bates-Diop for the top leading scorer in the Big Ten after his terrific effort. It was the fourth 30 point game from Carr, who shot 9-15 from the field in the victory.

Next up for the Nittany Lions is a date at No. 6 Purdue on Sunday night. A win in West Lafayette, and Penn State just might be able to put on its dancing shoes.