February 20, 2010

Penn State: Beating Michigan (twice) And Cancer in one weekend = EPIC WIN

Penn State won at Michigan for the first time since Calvin Booth put on his robe and wizard hat and stymied the entire Michigan team.
Updated 11 p.m.

No Michigan, you own NOTHING!
What this? A win streak for the Fighting DeChellises (10-16, 2-12 Big Ten)? It seems like the team has finally depleted their stock of painfully close losses and have traded them in for just-as-painful but-spiked-with-pleasure victories. I'm talking of course, about the fact that Penn State went scoreless for nearly the final 7:30 of the game while Michigan slowly clanked away at a 53-44 PSU lead before Jeff Brooks of all players, stepped up with a clutch 10-foot shot from the baseline to seal the 55-51 victory and PSU's first win at Michigan since 1999, when guys like Calvin Booth (pictured>>>) were suiting up.

Props to Talor Battle and his double-double performance (14 points, 11 rebounds) but more importantly, props to Battle's willingness to share the ball, which was a major issue for him earlier in the season. I lost count just how many times Battle was double and triple-teamed, only to find a wide open teammate for an easy layup or mid-range shot. As a result, a variety of players contributed scoring-wise, most notably 10 points from Andrew Jones, and 9 points each from DJ Jackson, and Brooks.

Battle also had the play of the game where coming out of a timeout, he drained a three-pointer from the corner right in front of Michigan's "Maize Rage" student section, just as the Maize Rage finished doing their mock Zombie Nation chant where they yell "WE..OWN..PENN..STATE." Karma's a bitch, alright.

Ladies start the sweep
When it happened, we couldn't imagine that it would set off a weekend like this for Penn State basketball. But on Friday, the Lady Lions ended their own 6-game losing streak, by beating... you guessed it, MICHIGAN! Although the Lady Lions are doing a tad bit better this year (16-10, 8-8 Big Ten) than the Nittany Lions (you don't want to know), both teams are riding high right now. So let's just enjoy it while it lasts, and drink up those Maize and Blue tears. (write up, and photo below, by Mike)

For the Kids
Also, if you haven't already, please take about 30 seconds to go over to the THON website and make a donation to the Four Diamonds Fund which benefits pediatric cancer research. For all you non-Penn Staters reading this: There's even a link on the website that describes THON in further detail which after reading, you'll likely be tempted to pitch in. Oh, and there's a live webcast too for you to get a glimpse of the current THON action. If you've never seen THON before, this is your golden opportunity to get yourself initiated. It'll be going on until 4 PM ET tomorrow, so don't worry about missing out (yet).

Meanwhile, you know how we do things here at LBU after victories like these: GOO PUNCH TIME!



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