PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Standing behind the Johns Hopkins net, freshman TJ Malone surveyed the field. He took off running to his right, attempting to shake his defender by changing direction with a spin move.

When the look didn’t prevail for him, he found the man who had been Penn State’s answer for everything on Saturday — Mac O’Keefe.

By the time the Johns Hopkins long pole got within range of the attackman, O’Keefe had already fired his shot — the dagger that sealed the deal.

O’Keefe’s overtime snipe secured the first Big Ten Tournament Championship in Penn State history, beating the Blue Jays, the defending champions and perennial powerhouse, by a score of 18-17.

It also capped off an eight-point outing for O’Keefe, a team leading total. The dominant day brought his tournament totals to nine goals and three assists. The numbers earned him a spot as one of five Nittany Lions on the All-Tournament team as well as the honor of Tournament MVP.

But none of that would’ve mattered had that shot not fallen. Rather than celebrating a program-changing moment, Penn State would be heading into the NCAA Tournament looking to rebound from a loss.

The stage was large, but it was the circumstances within the game that made O’Keefe’s goal so special.

The Nittany Lions had finally built what appeared to be enough of a lead to win the title, but two goals from Joey Epstein in the final 35 seconds took Penn State into the deepest waters it had seen all year.

“It's one thing to build momentum going into overtime and then to win it,” coach Jeff Tambroni said, “but to give up a two goal lead with a minute left to play, it's a tough way to go into it.”

The No. 1 team in the nation was on the ropes with momentum swinging toward the opponent.

Before O’Keefe could even get the ball in his stick, he needed some help from a couple key role players, the first of which being Jake Glatz.

Glatz entered the game to spell Gerard Arceri. Penn State’s top faceoff specialist faced issues with the looks presented by Johns Hopkins at the faceoff X, and Tambroni turned to Glatz for a spark.

The sophomore saw time sparingly throughout the year but earned the trust of his coaches and teammates. His effort against the Blue Jays, specifically in overtime, will only strengthen that feeling.

“His number was called, he stepped up to the bell,” Grant Ament said.

Glatz won the draw to start overtime and even attempted a shot that didn’t fall. The sequence allowed Malone to play his role in the final moment.

The freshman earned his way into the starting lineup at midfielder after showing continuous growth throughout his first season of collegiate play. On his feed to O’Keefe, Malone didn’t much look like a freshman at all.

“I'm super proud of TJ Malone for having the courage to be able to take on a double team and then throw a skip pass as [an] 18 year old freshman,” Ament said. “You gotta have some confidence to do that.”

Once O’Keefe had the ball in his stick and wound up to fire, Ament had a pretty good idea of what was coming next.

“I've seen him take that shot probably 100, 200 times, and he sticks probably about 80% of them,” Ament said.

Oddly enough, it was an earlier missed opportunity on a similar look that motivated O’Keefe to make good on another try.

“It started with that last play at the end of the game where I got stuffed,” O’Keefe said. “I had an opportunity to finish and I didn't and it really stuck with me. I knew when I had the chance in overtime, I had to bury it.”

O’Keefe didn’t convert on every chance he got on Saturday, but it was his consistency throughout the game that made a difference for Penn State’s offense, especially when Ament was struggling to get comfortable early on due to pain from his injury flaring up.

“He was feeling it today,” Ament said. “He just stayed confident, didn't stick all of his shots, but just kept shooting, and he was definitely the hot hand.”

Scoring the winning goal to make history for his team was a fitting end to a tournament that saw O’Keefe take the next step as an athlete and teammate.

“What we were most proud over the last couple of days on Thursday and tonight is the way he rode, the way he picked up the balls off the ground,” Tambroni said. “He's become a true leader. Our guys are looking to him and Grant on a lot of different situations, and it's nice to have that poise and maturity down there.”

O’Keefe’s name is already etched in Penn State history. He is the all-time goals leader despite only being a junior, and he has set the record for goals in a season in two separate years.

His game-winning goal will be part of the legacy he’ll leave after next season, but O’Keefe’s focus right now is on continuing to make history as a team. The first ever Big Ten Tournament title is a start, and now the NCAA Tournament provides the next step in the process.

“We’re just trying to set a new standard for this program, O’Keefe said,” and I think we’re taking steps at that each day.”