Penn State's Crispin hits last-second shot for third in NIT

By Carla Motko
Collegian Staff Writer

First place is for the glory. Second place is for the respect.

Third place is for the Penn State men's basketball team.

At least for this year.

With a 74-72 last-minute victory against North Carolina State last night at Madison Square Garden, the Nittany Lions, which finish their season with a 19-16 overall record, captured third place in the National Invitation Tournament.

But the Lions came close on several occasions to letting the game slip away from them. Down by 11 points with about seven minutes left to play, Penn State began to rally.

"It was a real gut check for us," Penn State men's basketball coach Jerry Dunn said on the Penn State Sports Radio Network. "They're an extremely athletic team and they played really hard. We had some guys step up in the end."

Penn State guard Joe Crispin, who was scoreless through the first half, became the Lions' savior. Trailing 62-53, Crispin hit a three-pointer to kick off the comeback. A few minutes later, he hit another trey to pull the Lions to within two, 65-63.

But his last minute efforts sealed the game for Penn State.

Crispin, who finished the game with 14 points, was the story in the second half, but Penn State forward Jarrett Stephens stole the show in the first stanza.

N.C. State took command early in the game, opening up a 19-10 lead with just less than 13 minutes to play in the first half. Stephens, in his last game as a Lion, started the Lions back down the scoring path. His two key baskets helped Penn State tie the game at 19 apiece.

His 18 first-half points were crucial for the Lions to end the half tied with the Wolfpack at 37-37.

After last night's game, Stephens claimed the fifth position on Penn State's all-time scoring list with 1,372 career points.

"I was happy for him that we could end the game on this note," Dunn said of Stephens.

The ending almost didn't come out on such a happy note for Stephens, however. N.C. State, led by freshman forward Damien Wilkins, burst out of the locker room by outscoring Penn State 15-6 to take a 56-45 lead. Wilkins finished the game with 21 points for the Wolfpack.

N.C. State posted an 11-point lead on Penn State on four separate occasions in the second half and it looked as if the Wolfpack had the game in the bag. But a defensive stand by the Lions helped to pull the game back within reach.

"I think we've been a pretty good defensive team all year long," Dunn said. "I thought we played good defense against Notre Dame."

The Fighting Irish knocked Penn State out of the NIT Finals game, and Crispin was not about to allow N.C. State knock Penn State down to fourth.

With a mere two seconds left on the clock, he hit a lay up off the dribble drive to put Penn State on top 74-72, then sealed up the win by stealing the inbound from Wilkins.

Dunn took his hat off to Crispin in the end, saying he was confident Crispin could bring the game home for Penn State despite his scoring struggle in the first half.

"I thought he made some good defensive decisions," Dunn said. "He's the type of guy who you want the ball in his hands. His play paid off in big dividends."