NIT: Penn State advances to Final Four with win over Marquette
Penn State basketball is headed to the NIT Final Four!
It’s not the “Big Dance” but Penn State is making its mark in a postseason tournament. One of the hottest college basketball teams over the past week kept things rolling Tuesday night in a road clash with Marquette in the quarterfinals of the NIT.
Like they did against Notre Dame on Saturday, the Nittany Lions controlled the game from the onset. They trailed by a small margin early, but dominated the majority of the game en route to an 85-80 victory.
Penn State had the disadvantage of a short bench, but didn’t let that fact get in the way. The Nittany Lions got just four points from their bench, so it was up to the starters to carry the load.
Lamar Stevens poured in a career-high 30 points. Guard Tony Carr once again had a strong game, scoring 25 points with six rebounds and seven assists. Shep Garner, who added 19 points, continued his hot shooting from behind the arc. Garner converted on five of his eight three-point shots and proved whey he was the best three-point shooter in the Big Ten this season.
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Julian Moore once again stepped up in the absence os big Man Mike Watkins. Although he scored just four points off the bench, he pulled down five rebounds and was an important presence down low.
During the first two games of the NIT the Nittany Lions struggled to shoot the ball but got by on stellar defense. Fortunately against Marquette, shots finally started falling. Penn State shot a whopping 53 percent from the floor.
For Marquette, 46 percent shooting from the floor wasn’t good enough to top the Nittany Lions. Heading into the game it was expected that the duo of Markus Howard and Andrew Rowney. Howard scored 21, while Rowney notched 29.
Unfortunately for the Golden Eagles, they still came up short.
With the win, Penn State gets to keep its season going. Next up is a trip to New York and Madison Square Garden for the semifinals. The Nittany Lions will be in action on March 27 against either Louisville or Mississippi State.