Crispin’s crisp shots lead cagers past Illini

By VITO FORLENZA
Collegian Staff Writer

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- He was pulled even before Penn State had notched its initial points. His strut to the bench with his shaking head and disgusted look illustrated that his recent slump was on the brink of overwhelming his confidence.

The Penn State men's basketball team had just scurried to get an early offensive rebound, and the passed ball landed in Joe Crispin's hands. After the guard fired a 3-pointer under heavy pressure that was well off its mark, it looked as if his road woes would continue.

Crispin had not simply been unproductive in conference road games.

He had been miserably ineffective.

Crispin was 2 for 21 in the two previous Big Ten games away from home. In the Nittany Lions' 62-60 overtime loss at Northwestern last Wednesday, he shot 1 for 11 and 0 for 6 from the 3-point arc. Against Minnesota Jan. 9, Crispin was 1 for 10 (1 for 7 from 3-point range).

They were numbers Crispin knew very well.

"He's tried to make some adjustments here and there when things weren't going the way he liked," Lion coach Jerry Dunn said. "But he's a guy that wants to make the big play."

While guard Titus Ivory carried the Lions early against Illinois, Crispin could only watch from the bench. And when he stepped back onto the floor with 11:46 remaining in the first half, he worked the ball around the perimeter before sinking his first shot -- a 3-pointer -- with 6:49 remaining in the half.

Then -- finally -- he found his stroke.

He led Penn State on a 12-2 run near the end of the first stanza, when he scored 10 of his 15 first-half points, six of which came from behind the arc.

And in the second half, it seemed as if something was wrong when he missed three of his seven shots.

"It's one of those things where my shots have been falling in practice and warmups," Crispin said. "But the last few games they haven't been falling. I just tried to stay confident."

And when the Lions (10-7, 2-5 Big Ten) finally had ended a four-game losing streak with the 65-62 win over Illinois (8-11, 0-7), Crispin was full of confidence. He shot 8 of 14 from the field, with half of those baskets from 3-point range, and hit 10 of 10 from the free-throw line for a career-high 30 points.

In eclipsing his old career best of 21 points with the bulk of the Lions' 49 backcourt points, the output also proved to help break the losing skid.

Unlike most teams, which try to collapse their defense on Lion center Calvin Booth, often forcing the Lions to attack from the outside, the Fighting Illini's game plan left them playing a straight man-to-man defense.

While this looked to open the offense for Booth and the inside game, the Lions again had to attack from the perimeter because Booth was in foul trouble throughout, picking up his fourth with 15:44 remaining in the second half.

And Crispin used the opportunity to break out of his road struggle.

"He's had games before where he's just got on a role," Illini coach Lon Kruger said. "He hasn't shot the ball as well as he can on the road in the Big Ten, but he's got that kind of attitude that you have to have. He's a tough guy, a good competitor and had an outstanding game."