Penn State Upsets No.6 Michigan at Home

posted February 13, 2019 in CommRadio, Sports by Aidan Bitterman

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Two teams took the court at the Bryce Jordan Center on Tuesday night, one with aspirations of returning National Championship Game, while the other was just hoping to win more than one conference game on the season. And the latter won.
Penn State (9-15, 2-11) pulled off the upset against No.6 Michigan (22-3, 11-3) by a score of 75-69.

“I’m really, really proud of my team,” Penn State head coach Pat Chambers said. “They really blocked out all the noise. They showed up.”

The Nittany Lions started hot, and they led from almost start to finish. The Wolverines’ latest lead in the game was 5-4, and they only led for a total of 1:49 minutes. Meanwhile the Nittany Lions had the led for 36:45 minutes. They dominated the first half and went into the locker room with a 40-27 lead.

As both teams were leaving the court for their respective locker rooms, Michigan coach John Beilein’s frustration boiled over and was assessed two technical fouls and then ejected from the game.

The second half was a bit of a different story. Early on the Nittany Lions built the lead up to 16, but then the real Wolverines decided to show up, at least for a little bit. The lead was cut to four, on more than one occasion, but that was the closest that the Wolverines would get and the Nittany Lions were able to pull off the upset.

Lamar Stevens led all scorers with 26 points, and he added a game-high 12 rebounds as well. He also had two huge blocks on back-to-back possessions while the Wolverines were on a run, which returned the momentum to the Nittany Lions.

After starting 17-0, the Wolverines have yet to refind that formula that made them so successful earlier in the season.

As for the Nittany Lions and their fans, who stormed the court for the third time in the past four years, they were able to celebrate this night.

“It’s a special group,” Chambers said. “I don’t think our record is a reflection of how hard this team has worked. How they’ve competed, and really put themselves out there. And we’re going to continue to do that.”

 

 

Aidan Bitterman is a senior broadcast journalism major. Contact him at @abitterman29.