• Fri. Mar 29th, 2024

Penn State Lions win 2018 NIT over Utah

New York City, N.Y.- The National Invitational Tournament wrapped up Thursday with a Penn State blowout win over Utah 82-66. Lamar Stevens scored 28 points as the Nittany Lions won the postseason NIT for the second time in program history. Penn State previously won the NIT in 2009.

Sedrick Barefield led Utah scoring 22 on the night, including 6 of 8 from three-point range. Justin Bibbins would also chip in 15 for the Utes. A lack of other contributions spelled doom for the team, when Penn State started to pull away.

The game was up for grabs during the first half. Penn State led 39-34, but both teams were feeling each other out. The Lions would flip the switch during the second half. After leading by 2 early in the third quarter, Penn State went on a 20-7 run that put the momentum squarely in their favor.

They shot a blistering 64% in the second half, including a backbreaking alley-oop slam from Julian Moore that brought the fans to their feet.

Lamar Stevens was a load for the Utes all night, scoring efficiently on 11 of 15 shooting. He was near perfect from three-point range going 4 of 5 from downtown. His teammates, Josh Reaves and Tony Carr, also made significant contributions. Reaves had 18, while Carr was 1 rebound shy of a Triple-Double, with 15 points, 14 assists, and 9 rebounds.

Congratulations to the 2018 National Invitational Tournament winners, the Penn State Nittany Lions!

 

 

By Vernon McKenzie

Graduate of New Institute Of Technology with a BA in Communications with a focus on Television Radio. Owner and Executive Producer of PureSportsNY

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