By Steve DiMiceli
Tough one today in State College but the Dukes fought back to cut Nittany Lions lead from twenty-one to five in an otherwise frustrating affair. I thought the officiating was atrocious throughout the game but it seemed to even itself out in the second half when the Dukes got the benefit of some of the bad calls. You've gotta give credit to Penn State for their game plan. Their somewhat passive trap denied Derrick Colter the lane, but didn't take them that far out of position to recover if he found the open man. I thought they defended well and swarmed the defensive at the other end.
Couple of positives to take away. I thought the Dukes took very good care of the ball and created a number of open looks that just didn't fall. I also loved that they didn't quit even if they came up short.
Player evaluations -
Player of the Game: Sean Johnson 6.5
Hard to deny what he did in the second half. Better defense and offensive presence made up for a very sloppy first half from him.
Derrick Colter 6.5
Overall, I thought he dealt with the pressure quite well. Two of his TO's were from charges IIRC. Nice second half. As a senior he's going to gash defenses like the one he faced tonight.
Quevyn Winters 6
His defense isn't where his offense is and it costs him PT. I liked the dribble drive I saw from him today. His 3 point form is just text book.
Jerry Jones 6
Crossover was killing people tonight. I liked his step back three. When he and Jeremiah were in at the end of the 1st, their defense really brought the Dukes back into the game until the referees decided it was time to give out technical like they were candy.
First half left a lot to be desired from Jim Ferry. Moving to a smaller lineup really seemed to help and the Dukes found a way to get after players in foul trouble.
