Jan. 29, 2015
By Matt Allibone, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - In the days leading up to the Nittany Lion basketball team's matchup against Minnesota, head coach Patrick Chambers preached the importance of each player stepping up and assuming a bigger role.
With second-leading scorer and rebounder Brandon Taylor sidelined with a sprained knee, the Lions were certainly in need of production from their role players. Against the Gophers, that need was met by a variety of Nittany Lions throughout the game.
In a back-and-forth contest, Penn State received 43 percent (27 points) of its scoring from its bench as the Lions held off the Gophers 63-58.
"When BT went down, maybe some people wrote us off, but our team stayed confident," senior guard and leading scorer D.J. Newbill said. "The next guy stepped up and everybody came out there with confidence and did their job. Everybody did their job today."
Not only was Taylor unavailable, but Newbill also struggled for much of the first half, going just 1-5 from the field for two points. With their best player needing support, the Lions got a boost from three other backcourt players, Payton Banks, Devin Foster and Geno Thorpe.
Making his fourth start of the season, Thorpe tallied nine points, with eight of them coming in the first half to go along with four rebounds, two steals and his usual hyper-active defense. Banks and Foster both had career-high scoring days, with nine and eight tallies, respectively.
"We're so used to D.J. Newbill being so efficient," Chambers said. "He got 11 boards, 12 points and five assists, I'll focus on that. But it's great to see other guys step up, Geno in the first half, Payton in the first half, Devin Foster throughout the game. I was happy for those guys because they were patient and waited their turn and now they're getting their turn and making the most of it."
Although Banks, Foster and Thorpe just missed out on scoring in double figures, the true importance of their performances was the timing of the plays they made, not just the amount they scored.
With the Lions down 18-15 and just under 10 minutes remaining in the first half, Thorpe nailed a timely 3-pointer that tied the game and kick-started an 18-5 Penn State run to end the half. A huge part of that stretch was Banks hitting three triples, the most the redshirt freshman has made in a game this season.
"I didn't have the best night, so those guys stepped up," Newbill said. "Those guys really kept us in the game and really helped us take the lead up to 10 by halftime."
In the second half, it was Foster's turn to spark the Lions. After not registering a point in the first 20 minutes, the junior college transfer tallied eight in the second and made two particularly clutch layups.
First, with the score knotted at 43-43 and just over 10 minutes remaining, Foster grabbed an offensive rebound off a Newbill miss and drove hard through a sea of Gophers for the basket and a two-point lead. When Minnesota quickly regained a 46-45 advantage, the 6-foot-2 guard was at it again, taking a long pass from freshman Shep Garner and driving to the hoop to give the Lions a 47-46 lead they would not relinquish.
It's been a challenging season for Foster, who's had to adjust to a new campus and level of play after spending two years at Vincennes University in Indiana. Having played double-digit minutes the past three games however, the junior seems to be hitting his stride.
"At first, it was just making the transition from junior college to Division I," Foster said. "Just the physicality, the speed of the game. And now I'm adjusting and just playing hard each and every possession, in practice and on the court in the game."
As good as those players were, Penn State needed Newbill to play like his clutch self down the stretch and the captain delivered, scoring nine-straight points and 10 of the Lions' last 14 in the final seven minutes. Overall, he scored 10 in the second half while providing key rebounds and assists to give him his aforementioned stat line.
It was the type of teamwork that Chambers loves to see. While the coach was obviously pleased to have multiple players contribute, having his go-to-guy come through was just as good.
"I was really excited about our team stepping up for D.J. when he wasn't himself," Chambers said. "And then for a fifth-year senior to step up the way he did, command the ball, make great decisions, had a couple dimes, get himself to the free throw line, that's what you want your leader to do...and D.J's done that all year long."