Penn State pounds Utah to win NIT title

[March 30, 2018]  Lamar Stevens had 28 points on 11-of-15 shooting, and Josh Reaves added 18 points to lead fourth-seeded Penn State to the NIT championship with an 82-66 win over second-seeded Utah on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Penn State has been to just one NCAA Tournament since 2001 but has made two NIT appearances since then -- this season and 2009, when the Nittany Lions also won the title.

Tony Carr added 15 points, 14 assists and nine rebounds for Penn State (26-13). John Harrar added seven points and 12 rebounds as the Nittany Lions won the rebounding battle 34-27.

Sedrick Barefield had 22 points and Justin Bibbins scored 15 points to lead the Utes (23-12). Utah was looking to give the Pac-12 its third NIT title in seven years. Stanford won the event in 2012 and 2015.

Stevens had eight of his points in the third quarter, when the Nittany Lions outscored the Utes 24-14.

The Nittany Lions shot 55.2 percent from the field, including 40.9 percent from 3-point range, and 81.8 percent from the free-throw line.

Tyler Rawson had 11 points and Jayce Johnson added eight points off the bench for the Utes, who shot 43.1 percent from the field and attempted just nine free throws, making six.

Penn State led 39-34 at the half despite being down six points midway through the first quarter. The Nittany Lions went on a 13-4 run starting at the 7:41 mark of the second quarter, stretching a 24-23 lead to 37-27 in just under five minutes.

After Utah cut the deficit to 44-41 with 7:44 left in the third, the Nittany Lions went on a 17-4 run to go up 61-45.

Stevens had 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting in the first half with three 3-pointers. Reaves added 11 points before the break.

Barefield started for Utah in the first half, hitting all five of his shots -- including all four of his 3-point attempts -- to lead all scorers with 14 points before intermission. Aside from Barefield, the Utes shot 8 of 26 from the field in the half.

Utah, which has made two NCAA Tournaments under coach Larry Krystkowiak, including one Sweet 16, was back in the NIT for the second straight year and the third time in five years.

--Field Level Media

[© 2018 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2018 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.