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Penn State clobbers Cornhuskers

UNIVERSITY PARK — Penn State didn’t leave a sliver of hope for Nebraska in the Bryce Jordan Center on Tuesday night.

After kicking the Cornhuskers down in the first half, the Lions played an even better second half to win a blowout, 95-71.

For anyone who has followed the team this season, that kind of score makes you do a double take.

“If I could bottle that up on both sides of the floor,” coach Patrick Chambers said. “This is the team that we’ve been expecting.”

Lamar Stevens led the drubbing with a season-high 29 points and moved the Lions to 3-12 in Big Ten play. Rasir Bolton added 21 points.

“We need a Robin to the Batman,” Chambers said.

The Lions’ offensive efficiency was impressive. The unit finished the contest making 56 percent of its shots and only giving up seven turnovers. For a squad that has had the offensive prowess of a middle school team at times, Tuesday night was a bit shocking.

“Feels weird,” Bolton said of the easy win.

The Lions, who made 11 3-pointers, won in a way they hadn’t since conference play started. They won the easy way.

Instead of grueling, exhausting and inefficient style, the Lions made the shots they were supposed to make and easily came out on top.

“They hit deep ones. They hit contested ones. They hit uncontested ones,” Nebraska coach Tim Miles said. “When a team is so strong on the 3-point line, you’re not going to beat them.”

Penn State cruised through the first half. The Cornhuskers didn’t have many answers for Stevens, who racked up 16 points before halftime.

Thanks to an efficient offensive attack, the Lions slowly built their lead to 19. The Lions made half of their shot attempts before taking a 44-25 lead into the halftime.

Helping the home team’s cause was Nebraska’s failure from beyond the arc. The Cornhuskers were 0-6 from the perimeter before making their first 3-pointer at the start of the second half.

Things didn’t improve for the visitors after the break. They entered a long scoring drought and couldn’t snap out of it.

James Palmer Jr., who attracted a lot of the Lions’ defensive effort, led the Cornhuskers with 24 points.

The Lions’ offense continued to roll with Stevens at the helm and Bolton making consistent shots. Penn State maintained a 20-point buffer throughout the second half.

“He’s a difficult matchup for anyone involved,” Miles said of Stevens.

Even though the Cornhuskers picked up their defensive pressure as the game started to slip away, the Lions gave away few turnovers.

“That was the biggest thing,” Chambers said. “We did not turn the ball over.”

It’s an interesting win for the Lions. With nothing to play for and in front of a scant audience, the Lions put on a clinic and looked like a Big Ten frontrunner.

“It shows a team that’s completely bought in and trying to get better,” Chambers said. “We’re going to finish the season really strong.”

Nebraska, on the other hand, had slim NCAA Tournament hopes on the line and couldn’t have played much worse.

Also of note, the Lions are 3-0 this season while wearing their black and pink uniforms. Those wins were against Virginia Tech, Northwestern and Nebraska.

“I feel like we (play) good in them,” Bolton said. “Don’t we?”

The Lions’ next game is at Illinois on Saturday.

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