Penn State Begins March With a Resilient Victory
Penn State began March with perhaps its biggest win over the season. Now, how far can the Lions carry that?
Camren Wynter made a 3-pointer with .7 seconds remaining in overtime, lifting Penn State to an improbable 68-65 win at Northwestern and keeping its NCAA Tournament track possible. The Lions (18-12, 9-10 Big Ten) have won four their last five, a stretch that includes the 19-point dissolved lead in a loss to Rutgers.
However, Penn State continues to demonstrate a resiliency that won't succumb to its basketball limitations. And coach Micah Shrewsberry continues to say that he'll "ride with these guys."
"Experience doesn't panic at the end of the game," he said.
The last play represented Shrewsberry's point. Three seniors touched the ball, sandwiched around a huge freshman play.
Jalen Pickett, the All-American point guard whose shooting chances have been strategically limited the past two games, lofted a short floater with 7 seconds remaining in overtime. It missed, but freshman Evan Mahaffey responded with the biggest rebound of his career.
Mahaffey outworked Northwestern's defense for his first offensive rebound of the night. "He got in there and he willed it," Northwestern coach Chris Collins said of Mahaffey's play. Then Mahaffey slung the ball outside to Andrew Funk.
The senior, who scored 17 points, had a chance to win the game at the end of regulation. Funk took a smart feed from Pickett for a wide-open 3-point attempt, which ringed the rim and sent the game into overtime. At the end of overtime, instead of taking the shot, Funk swung the ball to an open Wynter in the corner.
"There was no doubt in my mind," Shrewsberry said of seeing Wynter take that shot.
Wynter, who transferred to Penn State from Drexel, is the only player on Penn State's roster who has played in the NCAA Tournament. He began the season with some strong games, including a 26-point performance against Clemson, but went through a lull.
Wynter went nine games without reaching double figures in scoring, saw his minutes reduced and lost a starting spot for three games. But Wynter has been on a four-game microburst that included 24 points against Northwestern.
He's averaging 18 points over the last four games, 61.3 percent from the field and an outrageous 76.5 percent (13-for-17) from 3-point range. On Wednesday, Wynter made nine of 15 shots, was 4-for-5 from 3-point range, and showed no fear at game's end.
"I'm a way better coach with a guy like Cam Wynter sitting next to me," Shrewsberry said at his post-game press conference.
Wynter delivered the credit to Pickett, who once again faced double-teams that prevented him from shooting. On Sunday, Rutgers held Pickett without a shot in the second half, and Northwestern held him to eight overall and two in the second half.
But Pickett "reeled the defense in," as Wynter said, and then dished out 11 assists. That helped Wynter score 24, Seth Lundy rebound from a tough Rutgers game (14 points, 3-for-4 from 3-point range) and Funk drop 17 with eight rebounds.
Collins called Pickett a "center in a point guard's body" who withstood his team's defensive approach.
"He trusts those guys," Shrewsberry said of Pickett. "It's, 'If they want to put this much attention on me, I'm going to spray it and I'm going to get you guys involved and I'm going to trust you guys to make plays.'"
Penn State picked up its fourth Quad 1 win of the season with potentially a chance for another Sunday against Maryland. With a win, the Lions would even their Big Ten regular-season record at 10-10. Then, one win in the conference tournament might be enough to get Penn State into the NCAA Tournament.
It's March now for the Lions.
"Every time we haven't played well or lost or something happened, they've responded every single time," Shrewsberry said. "Our leadership and our poise came through."
Penn State's Camren Wynter takes the game-winning shot in overtime against Northwestern.
David Banks/USA Today Sports
Noteworthy
- Penn State trailed by as many as 10 in the first half, and Northwestern had the game's biggest run (11-0)
- Two really uncharacteristic stats for the Lions: They committed 13 turnovers (after leading the nation with the fewest per game at 8.6) and shot 7-for-13 from the foul line
- Northwestern shot 36 percent and did not score in the game's last 2:45
- Penn State shot 66.7 percent from 3-point range in the second half and overtime
- Pickett broke Tim Frazier's single-season assists record. He is the first Penn State player to reach 200 assists in a season (209)
- Once 1-7 on the road this season, Penn State has won three straight away from home
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