Second-Half Spurt Keys Penn State Win Over Akron

Story posted November 26, 2014 in CommRadio, Sports by Bradford Conners

D.J. Newbill scored a game-high 29 points to help the Penn State Nittany Lions (5-1) erase a 13-point halftime deficit and secure a 78-72 victory over the Akron Zips (3-2) at the Bryce Jordan Center on Tuesday.

It was all Akron early on, as the Zips raced out to an 8-0 advantage and their lead never dipped lower than five in the first half. Akron took a 45-32 lead into the locker room behind 59 percent shooting from the floor, whereas Penn State only managed to convert 34 percent of its field-goal tries.

“We were throwing the ball all over the place; we were walking around and there was no energy or juice,” Penn State coach Pat Chambers said.

However, the tables quickly turned as the Nittany Lions would muster a big run of their own to start the second half. Penn State netted seven straight points in the first two minutes of the frame to pull within four.

Several minutes later, Brandon Taylor got a friendly roll off the rim on a corner three to trim the Nittany Lions’ deficit to one. On the ensuing possession, Taylor sank another trifecta---this time from the wing---to give Penn State its first lead of the night.

It ended up being a 16-0 run to open up the half for the Nittany Lions as they jumped out to a 48-45 advantage. Chambers had inserted both Jordan Dickerson and Geno Thorpe into the lineup to start the half, and felt that the adjustment paid dividends.

“We needed to get stops and they brought us energy,” he said. “They did a really, really good job.”

Penn State also switched to zone defensively, which forced Akron to change its offensive plan of attack.

“They make you throw it inside against the zone and we didn't score it inside,” Akron coach Keith Dambrot said. “It was a good adjustment by them.”

The Zips were held scoreless for 6:39 during that stretch, but Noah Robotham finally ended the Akron drought by hitting a three to tie the game, and this spurred a 7-0 Zips’ run that gave them the lead right back at 52-48.

With just under 10 minutes to play and Penn State trailing 54-52, Newbill converted a tough jumper from the free-throw line to even the score. On Akron’s next possession, a steal from Donovon Jack led to a John Johnson layup on the other end that enabled the Nittany Lions to jump back in front.

After getting another defensive stop, Penn State got out in transition once again, as Newbill drove to the basket and kicked the ball over to Jack, who threw down a two-handed slam to cap a 6-0 Nittany Lion run and bring the Bryce Jordan Center crowd to life.

Akron cut the deficit to 58-56, but a jump hook from Ross Travis and a pull-up three from Newbill extended the Penn State lead to seven with 6:28 to play. The Zips would then answer back with a 6-1 run---getting all of their points at the foul line---to make it 64-62 with 4:30 left.

Two free throws from Newbill gave the Nittany Lions a four-point lead, and on the next trip down, the senior point guard showed off his ball-handling skills by navigating his way through Akron defenders as he drove inside and finished with a lay-in off the glass. Then, a bucket from Johnson gave Penn State its largest lead of the night at 70-62.

The Nittany Lions held the Zips at arms’ length until a Thorpe turnover in the backcourt led to a Deji Ibitayo three that narrowed the Akron deficit to 73-70 with 48 seconds on the clock. After Newbill made one of two from the charity stripe, a basket from Robotham brought the Zips within two with 17 seconds left.

A foul sent Newbill to the line once again, but this time, Penn State’s workhorse converted both free throws to make it a two-possession game and help seal the win for the Nittany Lions, who outscored the Zips 46-27 in the final frame to nail down their third consecutive victory.

The field-goal percentages flipped almost entirely from the first half to the second, as Penn State shot 64 percent in the final period while Akron made just 7 of its 33 field-goal attempts.

“When you shoot 21 percent in the second half, you're lucky you're even in the game,” Dambrot said.

Newbill’s 29-point effort marks his fourth straight game of 20 points or more, as he went 8-for-12 from the floor and 12-for-15 from the free-throw line. Taylor added 14 points for the Nittany Lions on 4-for-11 shooting from beyond the arc.

Robotham paced the Zips with 18 points, and Ibitayo chipped in 17 of his own, including 8-of-9 from the foul line. Travis and Pat Forsythe led their respective teams with nine rebounds apiece, and Dickerson recorded a game-high four blocks.

Penn State will look to extend its winning streak to four when it travels to Bucknell on Friday.

(Photo credit: AP Photo/Mic Smith)

Bradford Conners is a senior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email btc5082@psu.edu.