“BY WADE MALCOLM
“For The Patriot-News
“STATE COLLEGE – When his perfectly arced shot ripped cleanly through nylon to give Penn State a five-point lead with 13 seconds remaining, Mike Walker pointed to the sky.
” ‘To God,’ he later said, grinning boyishly. ‘For letting me hit that shot.’
“The shot — a crossover, pull-up, shot clock-beating three — seemed to guarantee Penn State’s first Big Ten victory of the season.
“And the celebration by Walker, a Penn State freshman and Trinity grad, didn’t appear premature.
“But it was.
“True, the Nittany Lions held on to defeat Northwestern 65-62 yesterday at the Bryce Jordan Center, but PSU almost managed to give away another game. Its mistakes gave the Wildcats (8-9, 1-4 Big Ten) a fighting chance at the end, despite their five-point deficit following Walker’s clutch bomb. …”