No. 16 Penn State edges Rutgers on Dread's late 3-pointer

STATE COLLEGE — Patrick Chambers wants No. 16 Penn State to develop a killer instinct.

He may want to show his Nittany Lions replays of Myles Dread’s effort from Wednesday night.

Dread hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 28 seconds left to lift Penn State over Rutgers, 65-64, after the Nittany Lions blew a 21-point lead. Akwasi Yeboah missed a 3-pointer the other way, and Dread was swarmed by his teammates who snapped a two-game losing streak.

“He knows that I’m confident in him,” Chambers said. “He knows the players are confident in him. As soon as it left his hands I knew it was in.”

But coming out of the huddle with his team suddenly trailing after a Geo Baker jumper, Dread didn’t know he would get the ball.

The play was designed to go to Penn State’s leading scorer Lamar Stevens for an inside shot that Penn State hoped would send the game to overtime.

When Dread was left alone behind the arc, however, Izaiah Brockington found him.

“When the play’s designed for Lamar, and I come off and knock it down, that just goes to show how much my teammates believe in me,” Dread said. “If I don’t shoot, I don’t play.”

Brockington scored 16 points and Stevens added nine for the Nittany Lions (21-7, 11-6 Big Ten). Dread finished with 11 and a career-best seven assists.

“That game could’ve got ugly and it didn’t,” Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell said. “Our guys battled and stayed the course.”

Trailing 40-19 late in the first half, the Scarlet Knights tied the game at 62-62 with 1:32 left on Baker’s layup. His jumper gave Rutgers a two-point lead with 42 seconds remaining before Dread’s big shot handed Rutgers (18-11, 9-9) its third-straight loss.

Jacob Young scored 13 points for the Scarlet Knights who rallied after Penn State led by double digits well into the second half.

They cut it to 51-50 with a 15-2 run that began as Young found ways to penetrate Penn State’s defense.

Young, who entered the night averaging eight points per game, hit a layup with 14:45 left and added two more along with a dunk from Ron Harper Jr. and a layup from Myles Johnson to pull the Scarlet Knights within a point with 10:03 left.

Stevens scored the next two baskets and Penn State got some more offense to go back up by 10.

Both teams played sturdy defense early before the Nittany Lions edged ahead 13-10 eight minutes in. Stevens increased his team’s lead with a 3-pointer from the corner two minutes later. Stevens’ first make of the game sparked a 27-9 run to make it a 21-point lead.