UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State men's basketball senior Mike Watkins posted a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds off the bench to fuel the Nittany Lions past the Delaware Blue Hens, 75-49. The two teams played in the Hoops 4 Disaster Relief charity exhibition game Sunday afternoon at the Bryce Jordan Center to raise funds to assist the Ruston, Louisiana, and Louisiana Tech campus communities rebuild after a devastating tornado in April 2019.
Three Nittany Lions scored in double figures with sophomore guard Myreon Jones posting 18 points on four field goals from beyond the arc and grabbing eight rebounds. Senior forward Lamar Stevens added 10 points to round out the trio. Myreon Jones and Jamari Wheeler each had five assists as well.
"I want to thank Martin [Ingelsby] and Delaware for coming up and helping us raise the funds, that's first and foremost," said Penn State men's basketball coach Patrick Chambers. "They have a great team, and one of their guys is out…They're going to be very good in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). For us, I felt like we showed who we could be as far as depth. I think we have a lot of talent on the bench and they came out and played hard. I thought we played consistent, which was really important."
The Nittany Lions held the Blue Hens to just 23 points in the first half on 25.9 percent shooting, as Penn State held Delaware without a field goal for nearly seven minutes during the period. The Blue Hens improved in the second half, but were at 31.4 percent shooting overall.
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— Penn State On BTN (@PennStateOnBTN) October 27, 2019
Mike Watkins making it look easy for @PennStateMBB!!! pic.twitter.com/IaSM1smceq
For the game, Penn State dominated on the glass with 55 total rebounds, 25 coming on the offensive end. After Watkins' 11 rebounds and Jones' eight, both junior John Harrar and redshirt sophomore Izaiah Brockington had seven each.
Brockington had three of the Nittany Lions' six steals and two blocks. Junior Trent Buttrick, who hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the second half, matched Brockington with two blocks and pulled down four rebounds.
"We had some really good contributions, but we're going to hang our hat on our defense and rebounding and that's why I thought we had consistent effort," Chambers said. "We scored 40 in the first half and 35 in the second half. For us to continue to get better we have to take care of the basketball. Thirteen turnovers are probably too many for my liking, and only getting to the free-throw line 14 times, now they played zone, so it's understandable, but we can't settle."
Watkins was one rebound shy of a double-double at the half with 15 points and nine rebounds, going 5-5 from the field in the first half and finishing at 7-8 for the game. Myreon Jones had 11 points at the half, going 3-4 from 3-point range.
Nate Darling had a game-high 25 points for Delaware with three treys and shared the team-high rebounds total with five with forward Collin Goss and guard Kevin Anderson.
Fans can donate to the Hoops 4 Disaster Relief Fund online at gopsusports.com/hoops4disasterrelief.
The Nittany Lions officially open the 2019-20 season at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 5 vs. Maryland Eastern Shore at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Season tickets for the 2019-20 Penn State men's basketball season are currently on sale with 17 home games at the BJC and offer fans the best overall value. Student season tickets are $35 and can be purchased at gopsusports.com/mbbstudents.
For more information about new men's basketball season tickets, visit the online ticket information page or call 1-800-NITTANY weekdays from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.