Penn State's Lamar Stevens scored 29 points and Rasir Bolton added 21 off the bench to lead the Nittany Lions to a 95-71 win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Tuesday at State College, Pa.
Jamari Wheeler added nine points, four rebounds and five assists, and Mike Watkins and Josh Reaves added 10 points each as the Nittany Lions (10-16, 3-12 Big Ten) dominated the Cornhuskers in all facets of the game.
James Palmer Jr. scored 24 points to lead the Huskers (15-12, 5-11), whose two-game winning streak was snapped. Isaiah Roby scored 17, going 8-for-10 from the field.
The Cornhuskers won the first meeting in January in Lincoln, 70-64, by holding Penn State to just 38.7 percent from the field. Stevens scored just 13 points on 6-for-20 shooting from the field.
On his home court, Stevens was a different player, connecting on 11 of 18 attempts and grabbing eight rebounds. He did not commit a turnover in 36 minutes.
Nebraska came into the game giving up just 62.9 points per game and allowing opponents to make just 40 percent of their field-goal attempts. On Tuesday, the Nittany Lions made 56 percent (35 of 63) of their shots.
Penn State surpassed the 63-point plateau when Josh Reaves nailed a corner 3-pointer with 13:19 left in the game. Reaves later would reach the 1,000-point mark on a long 3, which gave Penn State a 90-62 lead.
One of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the country at 31.1 percent, Penn State made 11 of 22 from beyond the arc while the Cornhuskers struggled, making only 6 of 18 long-range jumpers.
The Nittany Lions took a 6-4 lead on a Stevens' 3-point jumper at the 17:24 mark, igniting an 11-2 run, and Penn State never trailed.
Nebraska cut the deficit to 17-12, but then the Penn State offense took off, opening up a double-digit lead at 24-12 on a 3-point jumper by Bolton.
The lead grew to 18 on another Bolton 3 with just under five minutes left in the first half.
Penn State took a 44-25 lead at halftime on the strength of making 17 of their 34 (50 percent) field-goal attempts.
--Field Level Media
Nebraska | Penn St. | |
James Palmer Jr. 24 | Scoring | Lamar Stevens 29 |
Thomas Allen 5 | Assists | Josh Reaves 5 |
James Palmer Jr. 7 | Rebounds | Lamar Stevens 8 |
James Palmer Jr. 9 | Free Throws Made | Lamar Stevens 5 |
Glynn Watson Jr. 2 | Steals | Jamari Wheeler 4 |
Amir Harris 2 | Blocks | Josh Reaves 3 |