For a second-straight year, Penn State was gashed by a Mississippi Rebel in a painful defeat as it dropped a 72-70 decision against Ole Miss at the Bryce Jordan Center on Sunday night.
Last season, it was Trevor Gaskins who torched the Lions for 24 points in an 84-71 triumph and on Sunday, it was Jarvis Summers' 27 points that proved to be Penn State's undoing.
Summers' 4-5 shooting performance from 3-point territory fueled an 11-24 attack from beyond the perimeter for Ole Miss. Though they entered the game shooting just 20.7% from deep, the Rebels were able to keep pace with the Nittany Lions and earn their first road win against a Big Ten team in program history.
"I thought Jarvis Summers was tremendous," Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy said after the game of Summers' career-high in scoring. The Jackson, Miss. native's previous career high was 14 points.
The Lions held a lead as late as the final minute in regulation, but Summers rose to the occasion, scoring a basket-and-one with :34 left to put Ole Miss ahead for good.
Penn State had a couple shots to tie the game, but Tim Frazier missed a deep 3-pointer with :21 seconds left that proved to be the team's last good look, save for a desperate heave by Cammeron Woodyard with :03 remaining.
Though the shot looked like it could have been rushed and ill-advised, Frazier said he thought it was the best shot he thought he had available. His coach, Patrick Chambers, stood by the decision in his comments after the game.
"It's your best player," Chambers said. "He's got to learn how to make plays at the end of the game."
Frazier finished the night with a balanced stat line of 17 points, nine assists and six rebounds. Three other Lions, Woodyard, Jermaine Marshall and Sasa Borovnjak finished in double figures as well, with Borovnjak leading the group with 15 points.
Penn State returns to action on Wednesday night when it hosts Lafayette at 7 p.m.
Notes: Chambers said after the game that forward Jonathan Graham has mono and will be out of action for at least the next two weeks. Graham did not play against Mississippi on Sunday night.