Waples 1,000 career points
Tyler Schueck
123
Winner St. Elizabeth CSEM 3-6, 2-3 NEAC
122
Penn State Berks PSBM 2-8, 2-4 NEAC
Winner
St. Elizabeth CSEM
3-6, 2-3 NEAC
123
Final
122
Penn State Berks PSBM
2-8, 2-4 NEAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 F
St. Elizabeth CSEM 54 52 17 123
Penn State Berks PSBM 51 55 16 122

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Waples sets game and career records in shootout with St. Elizabeth

READING, PA - Baba Waples put on a spectacular shooting display en route to the single game scoring record and reaching the 1,000 career point milestone during a shootout with the College of Saint Elizabeth in a North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) contest on Tuesday evening at Beaver Community Center. Despite Waples heroics and some hot shooting by the rest his Nittany Lion teammates, the Penn State Berks men's basketball team was edged 123-122 in overtime by the Eagles.

Waples entered the game 24 points shy of becoming just the fifth member in program history to reach the 1,000 point plateau. The senior guard shot 7-of-14 with 2 3-pointers and went 6-for-7 at the foul line in the opening half to bring his total to 998 points. Waples was selected to go to the free throw line after St. Elizabeth was assessed a technical foul just 48 seconds out of the break. Waples drained both shots and was honored with a message by the announcer, while his teammates, family, and friends cheered and held signs for his big achievement. Waples then made a quick run through the crowd where he shared the game ball and hugs with his personal cheering section.

While the career accomplishment was nice, Waples still knew he had more scoring to do to help the Nittany Lions in their battle with St. Elizabeth. Waples poured in 53 points in his 44 minutes on the court, to shatter the previous record of 41 points by Joe Askew against Villa Julie College (now Stevenson University), which has stood for nearly a decade (January 16,2007). In addition, Waples matched the single-game school record for field goals made (17) and 3-pointers made (8). All the more impressive, is that he did it with great shot selection as Waples finished the game with a very efficient 65.4 shooting percentage (17-of-26) from the floor and as usual was solid at the charity stripe with a showing of 91.6% (11-for-12). Waples 8-of-11 (72.7%) performance from beyond the arc was the second best in a single-game in school history.

Along with the great personal and career achievements by Waples, he and his teammates gave an all out effort through all of regulation and the overtime period. Time and time again, the Nittany Lions found themselves in sizable deficits, but they continued fighting each time. The Eagles led 54-51 at halftime and eventually pulled ahead by nine points with 14:57 left in the second half. Waples and Dave Polisano drilled back-to-back 3's to cut the lead to three with a little over 14 minutes left. The lead went back to eight with as much as just 1:47 to go in regulation, but Waples shooting and strong defense brought Berks back. Waples tallied seven points, including his second four-point play of the evening to pull within two points with 35 seconds left. Eli Adams made a huge steal at midcourt and raced to the basket, where he was fouled and put to the foul line. The freshman guard kept his cool and knocked down both shots to even the game at 106-all with 22 seconds to go.

The Eagles started out strong in the overtime period with the first six points and eventually leading by eight with 48 seconds left. Again, Berks dug down deep and received a clutch 3-pointer by Joel Ellison, but the Eagles hit both free throws to go back up by seven. Adams buried a 3-pointer with 23 seconds left, followed by a steal by Matt Thompson on the ensuing in bound pass. Adams then knocked down another triple to make it a one point deficit with 19 ticks left on the clock. St. Elizabeth again hit both of its free throws and Adams tried to draw contact as he sank a mid-range jumper with two seconds left. He was unable to get the contact he was looking for and St. Elizabeth ran out the final few seconds to grab the wild victory.

Adams stepped up his game as he made his first collegiate start this evening. He finished with a career-high 28 points with 10-of-17 shooting from the floor and 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. He also handed out seven assists and grabbed three rebounds. Ellison recorded the third double-double of his career after chipping in 11 points and a game-high 10 boards. Matt Thompson added 12 points and seven rebounds, while Nelson Hine, who hit two 3-pointers, finished with eight points, nine assists, and four steals. Justin Seemann and Eric Stepnowski provided valuable minutes of the bench, with both pulling down five rebounds. Seemann added five points and two assists, while Stepnowski had two blocked shots. Quaadir Davis notched two steals and two assists in nine minutes during the first half.

As a team, the Nittany Lions set the single-game school record with 122 points, surpassing the previous high of 112 which came against Penn State Abington on February 8, 2012. The 18 3-pointers made by the team was also a new record, topping the 14 made at Cazenovia of January 30, 2010.

St. Elizabeth also had incredible scoring from their players, as Jason Saldiveri nearly matched Waples point-for-point. The freshman guard tallied 51 points with the bulk of his scoring coming in the paint as he went 20-of-27 shooting for the game. Cameron Tucker made four baskets from long range to finish with 18 points, followed by Marlon Hart with 17.

The Nittany Lions will look to bounce back with a NEAC contest at Penn College of Technology on Thursday, January 12 at 7 p.m.
 
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