Penn State Nittany Lions at Nebraska Cornhuskers

Backed by Flavor Flav, Garner leads Penn State past Huskers

He was talking to his cousin, Penn State junior guard Shep Garner, who already had made a 3-pointer that rattled in as the shot-clock buzzer sounded in overtime and now was stepping to the foul line with 80 seconds left. Garner coolly made both attempts and wound up with seven of Penn State's 16 points in OT, leading the 13th-seeded Nittany Lions to a 76-67 victory over Nebraska in the conference tourney's opening game Wednesday.

"It was a surprise. I didn't know he was coming," Garner said about his better-known relative, a member of the seminal `80s rap group Public Enemy. "But he does things like that. He doesn't tell you; he just pops up and makes a scene. He's that type of guy."

Garner made his mark on this game, scoring 16 points while going 4 for 7 on 3s, all despite a recent foot injury.

"That experience of playing in the Big Ten these last couple years really shined through today," Penn State coach Patrick Chambers said. "He gutted it out, for sure."

Penn State (15-17) never trailed and ended a five-game losing streak, advancing to face Michigan State in the second round.

Freshman Mike Watkins produced 18 points, 11 rebounds and a Big Ten Tournament-record eight blocks.

"There's more consistent effort there," Chambers said. "There's more willingness there."

Evan Taylor led 12th-seeded Nebraska (12-19) with 15 points. Tai Webster shot 4 for 16 and fouled out in OT with 12 points, only two after halftime.

Watkins helped limit Nebraska to 34 percent shooting.

"We just couldn't get anything going at the rim," Nebraska coach Tim Miles said. "That hurt us."

BIG PICTURE

Penn State: Coach Patrick Chambers got a vote of confidence from AD Sandy Barbour over the weekend, but the Nittany Lions haven't been to the NCAA Tournament since 2011, before Chambers was in charge.

UP NEXT

Penn State: Plays Thursday against No. 5 seed Michigan State, winner of a record five Big Ten conference tournament titles. Penn State beat the Spartans 72-63 on Jan. 7 at the Palestra in Philadelphia.

---

More college basketball coverage: http://collegebasketball.ap.org/

How can I watch Penn State vs. Nebraska?

• TV Channel: Penn State at Nebraska 2021 College Basketball, week 18, is broadcasted on ESPN2.
• Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo Free trial.
  Try Vidgo for free.