City of Basketball Love

Marley Paul (@MarleyPaul22)
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State returned to Rec Hall on Thursday for the first of a two-game series at its former house, with an 81-67 win over Canisius on Thursday.

On his last visit to the historic building across campus, coach Pat Chambers had a guard-dominant team in D.J. Newbill and Tim Frazier, both of whom tallied 24 points in an 81-79 loss to Princeton in 2013.

Fast forward two seasons later, and Penn State offers a variety of threats, with a 3-point marksman, a combo forward, and a rotation of serviceable big men that make a difference on both ends of the court.

A new starting lineup took the court Thursday, but the faces were mostly familiar. Pat Chambers acknowledge his seniors, whom were present in the last trip to Rec Hall, with a slot in the starting lineup as Donovan Jack and Jordan Dickerson joined fellow senior Brandon Taylor plus Shep Garner and Payton Banks in the starting five.

That 2013 loss, in which he finished with nine points, was the furthest thing on Taylor’s mind.

“I don’t even think about the Princeton game anymore, that’s not in my mind,” he said. “That’s in the past and I wasn’t worried about that because when you start thinking negative thoughts, that’s how negative outcomes come.”

The new-look starters left their imprint on the game early, Dickerson establishing his presence inside, scoring on the opening possession, running down the court and blocking a shot before connecting on his second consecutive basket for the quick start.

Dickerson sparked the Nittany Lions, who jumped out to an early 8-0 lead as Jack and Garner joined the action with two layups themselves.

“I wanted to reward the seniors for their loyalty and their commitment to this program,” Chambers said. “I felt like starting three of the four would be special because they were here the first time around.”

With 4,509 in attendance—considerable fewer than the 6,188 on hand in 2013—Penn State donned its vintage black and pink jerseys, the school’s original colors in the 1880s.

After starting the first eight games of his collegiate career, Josh Reaves was an injection of energy off the Penn State bench, leading to a team-high 33 minutes on the court. Reaves committed five of the team’s 21 ghastly turnovers, but made up for it any every other facet of the game.

“I brought him into the office, he was disappointed in the way he was playing,” Chambers said. “I just think he needs to go out there and play stress-free, and that’s what he did tonight.”

The freshman finished with eight points on 4 of 7 from the field plus 10 rebounds, seven assists and four steals.

“He’s our glue-guy, he can do everything,” Taylor added. “So we need him to continue to do things like that.”

Similar to the first half, the second half began with a layup from Dickerson giving Penn State its largest lead at 42-25. But the ensuing 8-0 run would head the opposite direction, as the Golden Griffins managed to string some baskets together, six points coming from Phil Valenti, who finished with a game-high 24 points.

Ball security was an issue for Penn State, which struggled at times handling the Canisius press, going on a seven-minute stretch midway through the first half in which it committed five turnovers while going 1 for 6 from the floor.

With a tight turnaround, returning to the court Saturday versus Louisiana-Monroe, Chambers is soaking in the win, after an intimate game of college basketball at Penn State, a seldom occurrence.

“We have some things to clean up, I look forward to practice, but right now we’re going to enjoy this first Rec Hall win and prepare for the next one on Saturday,” Chambers added.