Moments after the horn sounded on Penn State’s 65-63 upset of Michigan State in the Big Ten quarterfinals Friday night, Penn State’s Nittany Lion mascot leaped onto forward Gyasi Cline-Heard’s back.
Cline-Heard had to be tired after playing two heart-thumping Big Ten tournament games in 24 hours. But he didn’t mind toting the furry mascot off the United Center floor.
“After a win like that, I probably could have carried the whole team on my back,” Cline-Heard said.
No need. Joe Crispin had already done it. Crispin, a 6-foot gym rat from Pitman, N.J., scored 19 of his game-high 22 points in the second half, strafing the second-seeded Spartans with a flurry of three-pointers in the final minutes. This was the same Crispin who went 9-for-25 from the floor in a hideous home loss to Ohio State last weekend.
“I came here looking for redemption,” said Joe Crispin, not to be mistaken for younger brother Jon, a Penn State guard who added seven points. “We all came here looking to just do something amazing.”
This was a game laden with meaning for both schools.
Michigan State was preparing to march into the NCAA tournament as the top seed in the entire field, thanks to No. 1 Stanford’s home loss to Arizona on Thursday night. At the very worst, the Spartans were looking to lock up a No. 1 seed in the Midwest. Now the Spartans had better think about finding a good motel in Boise, Idaho, one of two West Regional sites.
“We’re going to have to regroup and pull our head out from under and get back to work,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said.
Seventh-seeded Penn State, meanwhile, was desperate to nail down an NCAA tournament berth after stumbling down the stretch. The Nittany Lions had nursed their hopes Thursday night by pulling out a buzzer-beater against lowly Michigan.
And there was a personal twist: Rumors had swirled that Nittany Lions coach Jerry Dunn would be fired if the team failed to qualify for the NCAAs.
The moment the game ended, Dunn’s 22-year-old daughter Nicole and 10-year-old son Taylor stormed onto the court and wrapped their father in a bearhug.
“Wasn’t that terrific?” Penn State AD Tim Curley said.
The whole evening was. All the elements came together to produce unsurpassing drama for fans crammed into the sold-out United Center.
They should have seen this coming. A year ago, Penn State bounced top-seeded Ohio State out of the tournament on Friday.
But it’s easy to overlook a school whose spring football game outdraws its average basketball game by 3-1. Penn State’s hoops team had never defeated an opponent as highly ranked as No. 2 Michigan State.
The game didn’t start promisingly for the Nittany Lions. Twelve minutes into the game, MSU’s Mike Chappell had seven points. So did the Nittany Lions. They trailed 19-7.
Seven points was a good day for Penn State’s woeful football team last fall. But the basketball team had to do better to have any shot at beating the mighty Spartans. And thanks to Joe Crispin, it did.
With Penn State trailing 48-40 midway through the second half, the elder Crispin grabbed the game by the throat.
First he hit an 8-footer. Then he knocked down two free throws.
Suddenly Michigan State’s lead was down to 48-44. After Cline-Heard scored and State’s Charlie Bell hit a free throw, Joe Crispin tossed in a three-pointer from the right wing.
Tie game, 49-49.
On the next possession, Joe Crispin drilled a three from the left wing to put Penn State up 52-49. But his biggest shot was yet to come. With Penn State up 60-59 and the shot clock draining, Joe Crispin sliced between Andre Hutson and Bell and launched a prayer. Swish.
The bucket gave the Nittany Lions a 63-59 lead with 15 seconds to go.
“I thought it would seal the deal,” Joe Crispin said. “When Jason [Richardson of MSU] hit that three, I wasn’t sure.”
Richardson answered with his own off-balance three to make it 63-62 with 7 seconds remaining. But after Joe Crispin hit two free throws, the Nittany Lions snuffed the Spartans’ chance to tie with a three by fouling Marcus Taylor with 1.5 seconds left.
Taylor hit the first free throw and missed the second. The Nittany Lions grabbed the rebound and a blue-and-white celebration broke out at center court.
Penn State wasn’t ready to make the long slog back to State college.
“Hey,” Joe Crispin said, “I want to do it [Saturday] too.”
