Box Score | Quotes | Notes | Photo Gallery 1 | Photo Gallery 2
November 24, 2017
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Finishing out the November home schedule at the Bryce Jordan Center with a perfect 5-0 mark, the Penn State men's basketball team topped Oral Roberts 86-48. Four Nittany Lions scored in double figures with guards Nazeer Bostick and Jamari Wheeler having career-best days with 14 points each.
Penn State came out of the gate quickly by making six of its first seven attempts while holding the Golden Eagles to just 1-6 shooting in the game's first five minutes.
"I was looking forward to see my team compete today after (Texas) A&M and a tough practice yesterday, I wanted to see how we responded," said Penn State coach Patrick Chambers. "I think they did a really good job, leadership was there, discipline was there. I'm really proud of our team to come out and compete like they did."
The Nittany Lions had their three highest field goal percentages of the season this week including the 56.1 percent against Oral Roberts, bolstered by a 66.7 percentage (19-27) in the second half. Defensively, Penn State held the Golden Eagles to 33.3 percent shooting for the game and only 25.9 percent (7-27) in the first half.
The defensive efforts translated into only 19 first-half points for Oral Roberts, the lowest total allowed by Penn State in any half this season. Penn State came out of halftime on a 17-5 run and shot 66.7 percent in the second period, the best of any half this season, which allowed for substitutions for the Nittany Lions.
Highlights of the second half included three-straight steals by Wheeler, leading to two of his own layups, and a dunk by redshirt sophomore forward Mike Watkins. On the afternoon, Penn State tied a season-low with only 10 turnovers and swiped 14 steals, a total tied for second highest this year.
Wheeler set five career-high numbers and tied another with 14 points, a game-best seven rebounds, five steals and six field goals made, and tied his career-best with four assists. Bostick tied his career best with field goals made and, Tony Carr, who finished with 13 points, set a career best with three treys. Josh Reaves, who totaled 10 points, added to his stat line with four steals, three assists and a blocked shot.
Penn State dominated in other team categories, scoring 44 of its 86 points in the paint to Oral Roberts' 20 and nearly doubling in point contributions from the bench (41-21). The Nittany Lions were also able to take advantage of the Golden Eagles mistakes, converting the 18 turnovers into 29 points.
With 86 points in today's game and 87, and 85, respectively, against Texas A&M and Pittsburgh, the Nittany Lions posted consecutive 80-plus-point games for the first time this season and the first time since the opening three games of 2016-17.
Penn State plays next in the Big Ten/ACC challenge versus N.C. State Wednesday, November 29 in Raleigh, N.C. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU and available on the WatchESPN mobile app.
The Nittany Lions open conference play on the road at Iowa on Saturday, December 2 and then play host to Wisconsin in their Big Ten home opener on Monday, December 4. Tickets are available for the Penn State Big Ten opener on December 4 and all remaining home games. Visit gopsusports.com/tickets/m-baskbl-tickets.html for more information.
Keep up to date with the latest information from Coach Patrick Chambers and the Nittany Lions on Twitter by following @Coach_Chambers and @PennStateMBB, liking the team's page on Facebook and following the team Instagram account at @PennStateMBB.