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Nov. 14, 2016
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State men's basketball team returns to action at 7 p.m. Tuesday vs. Grand Canyon in the Bryce Jordan Center. The matchup is part of the on-campus contests of the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament.
STORYLINES
- The Nittany Lions return to action vs. Grand Canyon at 7 p.m. Tuesday night in the third of three games in five days for Penn State. The matchup is part of the on-campus contests of the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament, which wraps up this weekend at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. [Tourney Info]
- The Lions will play six games within the first two weeks of the season and a program-record tying eight in the month of November.
- Penn State split its first two games, falling to Albany in the opener before bouncing back to defeat Duquesne, 82-76, Sunday [RECAP]
- Five players are averaging in double figures after two games, led by freshmen Lamar Stevens and Tony Carr (17.0 ppg).
- Three freshmen - Tony Carr, Lamar Stevens and Mike Watkins - were among the starters on opening night, marking the first time in program history three rookies were on the floor to start the season opener and the first time since the final three games of the 2007-08 season that at least three starters were freshmen in any game.
PROMO PLANS
- Lamar Stevens Trading Card Giveaway
- while supplies last
- Walking Talking Tuesday
- buy a ticket in section 110 and receive a FREE walking taco
SCOUTING GRAND CANYON
The Lopes opened the 2016-17 season Saturday vs. Duke in Cameron Indoor Stadium, falling to the top-ranked Blue Devils 96-61.
In his first game with the team, junior college transfer Shaq Carr led Grand Canyon with 18 points and eight assists in 38 minutes of action. Carr was one of three GCU players to score in double figures. Keonta Vernon added 11 points, four rebounds and two steals and Gerard Martin finished with 10 points, five rebounds and two steals.
Grand Canyon is picked to finish second in the Western Athletic Conference after finishing second a year ago with a 27-7 overall record and 11-3 mark in the league. Josh Braun is the leading returning scorer with 16.6 points and 5.2 rebounds a year ago.
SERIES HISTORY
This is the first meeting in the series between Grand Canyon and Penn State. The Nittany Lions are 1-1 vs. the Western Athletic Conference, defeating Missouri-Kansas City in 2005 and falling to Seattle in the 1973 Utah Classic.
UP NEXT
Penn State travels to the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament at Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Conn. The Nittany Lions will face No. 1 Duke Saturday before taking on either No. 21 Rhode Island or No. 24 Cincinnati. They previously took place in the tournament during the 2011-12 season, falling to eventual national champion Kentucky and defeating South Florida.
LAST TIME OUT
Lamar Stevens scored 24 points, Tony Carr added 20, Mike Watkins netted 15 and Penn State beat Duquesne 82-74 on Sunday.
Mike Lewis II led Duquesne (0-2) with 19 points and Darius Lewis scored 12 for the Dukes who have lost 12 of their last 14 dating to Feb. 6.
An unremarkable first half that ended with Penn State up 33-29 gave way to a back-and-forth second. The teams swapped the lead six times before Penn State (1-1) went ahead for good on a Julian Moore slam dunk that made it 54-53 with 10:57 left.
The Nittany Lions made 48 percent of their field goals, hit 6 of 7 from long range in the second half and closed out the game with a 28-21 run. Carr led the team with seven rebounds.