In Penn State’s Big Ten Tournament game last night, PSU senior point guard Talor Battle hit the biggest shot of his life. Inside two minutes to go, Battle hit a big three that put Penn St up 35-30 over the Wisconsin Badgers. It ended up being the decisive margin of victory as State held on 36-33, and found themselves with another signature win over #13 Wisconsin.
The shot also made Battle the all-time leading scorer in PSU history with 2,140 points. So just how big of a shot was it?
By Paul M. Banks
“Coach kept calling plays for me, so I had to eventually hit one, and to see one swish through was just the best feeling. Like I said, I haven’t hit a shot the past two days, but we’re winning so I couldn’t care less. The funny thing is the two previous threes I shot, even though I was a little off balance, they felt so good coming off my hand, I actually thought they were in and then they were just short object the front rim.
I told Tim Frazier just find me, I’ll knock one in. Tim did a great job of finding me and I just shot the ball with confidence not even thinking about how I was shooting the ball so poor. It all comes down to guys screening, coach having confidence, and me believing in myself to hit that shot,” Battle said.
In Nittany Nation, Jesse Arnelle is no longer the proudest lion; at least when it comes to scoring. His 2,138 points is now the most in Penn State college basketball history. Arnelle, also PSU’s all-time leading rebounder, led the Lions to the 1954 Final Four.
Battle is also the first Big Ten player and just 10th in NCAA Div. I history to reach 2,000 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists. Battle also joined the elite list of two players in NCAA Div. 1 history (Danny Ferry (Duke) & Grevis Vasquez (Maryland) ever to post 2,000 points, 600 rebounds and 500 assists.
Battle also led the Big Ten, averaging 20.8 ppg and became Penn State’s first ever Big Ten Season Scoring Champion and post the highest scoring average by a Nittany Lion since 1963.
Written by Paul M. Banks, President and CEO of The Sports Bank.net, a Midwest webzine.
He’s also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, the Tribune’s blog network, Walter Football, Yardbarker Network, and Fox Sports He does a weekly radio segment on Chicagoland Sports Radio.com and Cleveland.com
You can follow him on Twitter @thesportsbank