State College, Pa. – January 15, 2005 – The Penn State Nittany Lion basketball team dropped a hard-fought 66-62 decision to visiting Michigan on Saturday in the Bryce Jordan Center. Junior Travis Parker (Greenville, N.C.) led an outstanding Penn State effort with 19 points, five rebounds and four assists, but Michigan’s Ronald Coleman made four second-half three-pointers to spur UM on to the win.
The Nittany Lions and Wolverines played an even and energized first half, with each team leading by as many as six points. Penn State opened the game up by outscoring UM 14-6 over the first five-plus minutes. But Michigan would battle back with an 11-1 run to take a 19-5 lead at the 7:59 mark. Close throughout the first stanza, Michigan owned a 30-26 lead at intermission.
Parker led Penn State with seven points in the half while freshman Geary Claxton (West Haven, Conn.) had five points (including two dunks), four rebounds and two blocks. Aaron Johnson (Exton, Pa.) added four and six boards. Penn State shot .409 from the floor, but its defense held Michigan to just .394 shooting. The Nittany Lions also out-rebounded UM 19-16 over the game’s first 20 minutes.
The second half began with Penn State pulling into the lead, 37-35, on a traditional three-point play from Johnson at the 14:05 mark. The teams would continue to trade buckets until, with the game tied at 42-42 at the 9:28 mark, Michigan would go on a 10-3 run and grab a 50-43 lead with only 4:57 to play. The Wolverines would extend that lead to eight, 57-49, with just 2:36 left when Penn State would mount a furious comeback effort.
Parker would score five points (a trey and two free throws) to pull the Lions to within two, 59-57, at the 1:04 mark. But Coleman would hit his fourth and final trey with :34 to play and Michigan would make its free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.
Claxton also had a fine game, with the freshman continuing to play well in Big Ten action. Claxton had 13 points, eight rebounds and three blocks. Johnson posted his eighth double-double of the year with 11 points and 11 rebounds while Ben Luber (Richboro, Pa.) scored 13. Dion Harris led UM with 14 while Coleman ended the game with 13.
Penn State out-rebounded Michigan 40-29. The Nittany Lions shot .404 from the field, but hit only four of 14 three-pointers (.286). Michigan was 11 of 13 from the stripe and committed only eight turnovers.
Penn State is now 6-11, 0-4 Big Ten, while Michigan moves to 12-5, 3-0. The Nittany Lions will host Northwestern next Saturday at 4 p.m. in their next game. The contest is an ESPN2 national broadcast. Nittany Lion single game tickets can be purchased either at the Bryce Jordan Center ticket windows or on-line at www.GoPSUsports.com (click on the tickets button or the tickets tile). Single game and ticket packages can also be ordered by phone by calling 1-800-863-3336 or locally 865-5555.
HEAD COACH ED DECHELLIS QUOTES
Opening statement
“We kept climbing back into the game and getting to where we needed to be but then we kept turning the ball over and we didn’t take advantage. Michigan hit some big shots and that’s what this league is all about. We tried to take Dion Harris and Daniel Horton out of the game and I think they hurt us, especially in the first half. Graham Brown played exceptionally well. Our game plan was to take Harris and Horton out of the game and try and make someone else step up and beat us. Brown stepped up and did it.”
Talk about the play of Ben Luber
“Luber’s effort was outstanding, considering he was sick with the flu before the game. He plays hard and is a tough competitor. I thought he did a good job passing and he played very well defensively.”
What was it like having Marlon Smith back with the team?
“It was nice to have the guys see him at practice and in the locker room. It was a real pick-me-up for our guys.”
How important is it to not have to play the midweek game?
“It’s both good and bad. You have this sour taste in your mouth from the loss and Wednesday could be a day to get a win and erase that taste. But we’ll do some things academically in the next two days and then practice hard the rest of the week in preparation for Saturday.”
PENN STATE PLAYER QUOTES
Travis Parker
On playing without Marlon Smith:
“I thought we still had a good chance to win. We should have won. They just hit big shots at the end.”
On emotions in regards to Smith’s return to team activity:
“We were already emotional, coming into the game with an 0-3 Big Ten start. Marlon coming back and going to practice and sitting on the bench gave us an extra boost.”
On the physicality of the game:
“It wasn’t the most physical game we’ve played thus far. I would say Michigan State was the most physical. It was still a fast paced game but not like Michigan State with their fast breaks.”
Geary Claxton
On emotional aspect of the game:
“It was emotional. We just tried to play hard. We have to just keep on playing.”
On becoming comfortable with the style and play of the college game:
“I just have to keep playing more games. As I play more games I’ll become more comfortable. I just have to focus on the next game right now.”
On competitiveness of second half play today:
“You just have to play hard, 40 minutes each game like Coach says. We’re giving all of our effort and all we can do is keep trying and play harder.”
GAME NOTES:
- Travis Parker led both teams in scoring with a career-high 19 points and has now reached double figures in scoring in 14 of 17 games this season, including 11 of the past 12.
- Aaron Johnson extended his double-figure scoring streak to 20 consecutive games, despite being limited to one field goal in only five attempts. Johnson was 9-of-13 from the free throw line.
- Johnson collected a game-high 11 rebounds, his 8th double-figure rebounding effort of the season and the 16th of his career.
- Geary Claxton registered three blocks, the third time the freshman has achieved that mark. His 11th double-figure scoring effort of the season produced 13 points.
- Ben Luber scored a season-high 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field in 34 minutes of play. He converted 2-of-3 free throw attempts.