EditorsNote: Small changes throughout
Myles Dread capped a memorable performance with an unforgettable ending, drilling a 3-pointer with 28 seconds left to lift No. 16 Penn State to a thrilling 65-64 victory over visiting Rutgers in Big Ten Conference play on Wednesday night in University Park, Pa.
The Nittany Lions (21-7, 11-6) led for the first 39 minutes until Rutgers' Geo Baker hit a jumper to set up Dread's heroic shot. Dread shot 3-for-9 from the field to finish with 11 points and a career-best seven assists. Reserve guard Izaiah Brockington led the Nittany Lions with 16 points, and he added five rebounds.
Junior guard Jacob Young poured in a team-high 13 points for the Scarlet Knights, who outscored the Nittany Lions 40-23 in the second half.
The Scarlet Knights (18-11, 9-9) bounced back after a sluggish first half by reeling off seven straight points to slice the deficit to 45-35 following a 3-pointer by Montez Mathis with 16:20 remaining. Young later scored four points in during a 10-0 run that lowered the gap to 51-50 after a short jumper by Myles Johnson about midway through the second half.
Penn State's Lamar Stevens added a layup and an 11-foot turnaround jumper to ignite another run, extending the lead to 55-50 with 8:38 left. Brockington buried a jumper and John Harrar's dunk highlighted the 9-0 run that lifted the lead to 60-50 before Rutgers ended the surge with a layup by Young.
Johnson capped a 7-2 run with a layup to bring the Scarlet Knights within four at 62-57. With just over two minutes left, Akwasi Yeboah canned a 3-pointer to slice the deficit to 62-60.
The Scarlet Knights knotted the score at 62-62 on Baker's layup with 1:32 left in regulation. Two possessions later, Baker hit a fadeaway 20-footer to give the Scarlet Knights their first lead of the game at 64-62 with 43 seconds left.
The Nittany Lions were dealt a major blow before the game when sophomore guard Myreon Jones was declared out for the sixth straight game with an undisclosed illness. Jones is second on the team in scoring at 14.1 points in 22 games played this season. The Nittany Lions improved to 4-2 in Jones' absence.
Even without Jones, the Nittany Lions took a 10-4 lead in the first five minutes. Mike Watkins' dunk stretched the advantage to 33-17 with 5:18 left before halftime. Brockington scored seven points to close out the half and give the Nittany Lions a 42-24 lead.
--Field Level Media
