Eight thousand fans flooded into the Bryce Jordan Center for the biggest game of the Nittany Lions season thus far. They even sported black jerseys with pink letters, which were quite fashionable. A struggling Penn State team, who already has two embarrassing performances to Bradley and Depaul, had a tough opponent to face. They were set to square off against the Virginia Tech Hokies, the 13th ranked team in the nation. Although the Nittany Lions may have been considered less talented in a face-off against the Hokies, they surely weren't out-toughed. The team won some big stat lines like rebounds, both offensive and defensive.
Individually, Lamar Stevens had a quiet night in terms of scoring, he averages 23 points but only put up 14. However there's a lot more to this game than points, and he still had a significant impact. With 38 minutes played, he had 8 rebounds, a team high. His overall ability to draw double teams all night made scoring a little easier for some of his teammates. He was able to deliver passes to open players so they could hit uncontested shots throughout the night.
One of those teammates, freshman Myreon Jones, had an outstanding display for the Nittany Lions. Jones was on fire with 18 points and made 4 of 8 shots from 3 point range.
The main headline approaching this matchup was the return of 6' 9" center Mike Watkins, and he was welcomed with a standing ovation from the Penn State faithful. Mike struggled with mental health issues and started the season late, however, Watkins is back and better than ever. According to his recent Twitter post, "I've grown so much as a man this past year. It feels good. All glory to God. 2019 is mine." He seems to be in good spirits. The big man scored two points and grabbed an impressive 7 rebounds in his 21 minutes of play.
The Nittany Lions will be a lot better with him on the court, and the fans should be ecstatic. Hopefully, this statement win will spur this team to perform well in the Big 10 and achieve an elusive NCAA Tournament bid.
You can see the Nittany Lions on the court this Saturday in College Park, Maryland as they take on the Terrapins. The Hoosiers of Indiana is their next home game on Tuesday, December 4th.
