Spartans sneak by Nittany Lions, extend win streak
By Cash Kruth (Last updated: 01/14/09 11:36pm)The lead dwindled from 17, to 10, to four, until the MSU men’s basketball team found themselves in familiar territory — another tightly contested game at Penn State’s Bryce Jordan Center.
With MSU leading 74-72 with less than 30 seconds remaining in the game, Penn State guard Talor Battle drove to his left from the top of the key.
Senior center Goran Suton stepped up, reached in and knocked the ball away and sophomore guard Durrell Summers picked up the loose ball and was fouled. Summers calmly made both free throws as the No. 7 Spartans held on for a 78-73 win and escaped State College, Pa., with their 10th straight win and a still-perfect conference record of 4-0.
Junior forward Raymar Morgan led the Spartans (14-2 overall) with 17 points, while sophomore guard Kalin Lucas finished with 15 points and four assists. Suton scored 13 points and grabbed 14 rebounds and Summers finished with 10 points.
Forward Jamelle Cornley, who promised the Penn State student section a victory before the game, finished with a game-high 26 points for the Nittany Lions (13-5, 2-3) while Battle had 20 for Penn State, which fought its way back after being down by a game-high 17 points early in the second half.
A Suton layup put MSU up 55-38 with 14:21 remaining and the Spartans held on to their comfortable lead for most of the half, leading by as many 12 with 5:35 to go.
But two successful free throws and a three-pointer by Penn State’s Stanley Pringle, followed by a Battle layup made the score 69-65, forcing MSU to take a timeout with 3:33 remaining.
The Spartans came out and missed their next three shots, and a lay-in by Cornley put Penn State within two with about two minutes to go.
Five consecutive makes from the charity stripe by Lucas and two successful free throws for Penn State’s Battle kept MSU up by two, 74-72, before Summers picked up the loose ball caused by Suton’s strip.
The Spartans outrebounded the Nittany Lions 39-22, 15 of which came on the offensive end. After making four three-pointers in the first half, MSU went 0-of-7 beyond the arc in the second half.
In the opening minutes, the Spartans jumped out to an 8-0 lead before Battle scored eight of Penn State’s next 13 points to give the Nittany Lions a 13-12 lead.
A baseline jumper and three-pointer by Summers put the Spartans back on top, and three-pointers by Suton, sophomore guard Chris Allen and Lucas extended MSU’s lead to 42-29 heading into halftime.
Penn State opened the second half with seven quick points to cut MSU’s lead into single digits, but the Spartans dominated the glass as easy baskets from offensive rebounds helped them rebuild their lead.
The Spartans play next at 4 p.m. Saturday against Illinois at Breslin Center.
Prior to tip-off, MSU will retire the No. 42 jersey of former Spartan great Morris Peterson.
Originally Published: 01/14/09 11:33pm
btn
01/15/09 9:40amthat game got to close at the end. and we should have won by 15. but the worst part was listening to the btn announcers. they were almost cheering for psu instead of being impartial. we all couldn’t wait for comcast to carry the btn, but i hate when i have to watch it.
maybe our top ten spartans will get a few more games on espn instead of being pushed to btn with the likes of mich and nw.
Matthew
01/15/09 10:09amBTN – and every other station ever – favors the home team. Every game, every sport, every time. That is just the way it is.
BTN Sux
01/15/09 10:20amWoooooweeee that game was too close. We need to step on the other team’s throat sooner. We were up like 14 and almost blew it.
Kalin Lucas is a stud though. He has ice in his veins.
BTN sucks by the way…they compare a Penn State power forward to CHARLES BARKLEY. WTF??? Then they got Suton mixed up with Gray! CHEAP
MSUAlum
01/15/09 11:39amDon’t forget…BTN needed some new stock footage of great finishes for their promotional commercials for next basketball season. They needed something to replace the one from last year’s game…that they showed 2 million times!
SoCal Spartan
01/15/09 11:55amBTN sucks because they get all the games, then they don’t cut contracts with pacific rim cable providers. So my first year here I could watch FAR more games, and now the BTN was a pirate and stole my wonderful bounty of GREEN and WHITE! Regardless of all, I am VERY happy we pulled it off. We Spartan’s usually start to bring our A game in February and March which is FAR better then starting off with a winning streak and then disappointing.
Go Green!
Go White!
Go State!
Go Spartans!!!
stabarez
01/15/09 12:34pmAm disturbed by the lack of play in the paint. They cannot win with just the THREE!!!!! Offense is dead from 3-point line to the basket. Last two games have shown what happens when u cant takeit the hole, and the three won’t fall!!!! All those top tier players and they can’t set up the offense and get in position 2 rebound or tip in from the paint?
stabarez
01/15/09 12:40pmPREDICTION: THEY WILL LOSE TO UM if they don’t/can’t be disciplined enuff to set up plays, take it to the basket hard, and begin some strong perimeter play!!!! How many 3 second calls have been made against the Spartans so far? How many cuts to the basket do u see forwards make to the basket? How many offensive fouls so far???? Whataya think?
OldSparty
01/15/09 1:57pmHey, Where is that big mouth lawyer from Philly-Dork. I agree MSU needs to put people away-they let people hang around-lay it on em..Should have won by 15-dunk it Suton..BTN-totally biased everytime-where can we write to them. Go Spartans !!!
Spartan/Nittany Lion Fan
01/15/09 8:51pmEvery time I go to a men’s basketball game at Penn State, I am reminded of how amazing the crowd and the student section is at MSU! Last night, you could hear a pin drop in the BJC until the last five minutes of the game and the students sat more than they stood! After sitting in the Izzone, this seems unacceptable! Memo PSU fans: this is not a football game so please do not cheer as such!
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