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Penn State Athletics

Penn State Hosts Undefeated Cornell Monday Night


UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's basketball team kicks off a three-game Thanksgiving week with a Monday night home contest against undefeated Cornell. Tipoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. from the Bryce Jordan Center and the game will air nationally on Big Ten Network. The Penn State men's basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.
 
FOLLOW ALONG

 
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
Basketball Game Day Parking
Stadium West, Jordan East, Porter North – Basketball parking map

  • No charge with a valid Penn State parking permit
  • $5.50 prepaid through ParkMobile (season packages available for each team for $5 per game) - https://psu.parkmobile.io/bryce-jordan-center
  • $10 day-of-event without a valid permit or prepayment
  • Higher rates may apply when athletics events coincide with non-athletics Bryce Jordan Center and Pegula Ice Arena events. Rates will vary and will be announced prior to each event.

 
ParkMobile prepayment availability ends at 11:59 p.m. the night before each event. Events will not be selectable on the site after that time, and payment must then be made on-site upon arrival to event parking staff (cash only). $1 per hour parking will also be available at the East Deck for most games. Non-football event parking is managed by Penn State Transportation Services. For more information on parking for this event, please email parking@psu.edu or call 814-865-1436.
 
Mobile Ticketing
Penn State Athletics has converted all tickets for the 2021-22 seasons to mobile tickets. As was the case during the 2019-20 season, print at home PDF tickets will no longer be issued or accepted for entry at the Bryce Jordan Center. Fans can access Penn State Athletics mobile ticket guide at GoPSUsports.com/mobiletickets.
 
Bryce Jordan Center Bag Policy
The Bryce Jordan Center has implemented an updated bag policy for all events including the 2021-22 men's basketball season. Fans attending events in the Bryce Jordan Center will not be allowed to bring any large bags, backpacks, totes and coolers into the facility. Small clutch purses & wallets, clear totes or (1) one gallon, zip-close style plastic bags may be carried into the arena.  Limit one bag per guest. View the full bag policy HERE.
 
Mask Policy
In alignment with University guidance, all fans will be required to wear masks in indoor areas and venues, including the Bryce Jordan Center.
 
OPENING TIPS

  • Penn State remains home to kick off Thanksgiving week with a Monday night showdown against an undefeated Cornell team.
  • Penn State is 2-1 on the young season with wins over St. Francis Brooklyn (74-59, Nov. 18) and Youngstown State (75-59, Nov. 10).
  • Sam Sessoms (18.3), Seth Lundy (16.0) and John Harrar (12.0) are all averaging double-digit points and shooting a combined 60.5 percent (52-86) from the field through the first three games of the season.

 
IF PENN STATE BEATS CORNELL

  • The Nittany Lions would hand the Big Red their first loss of the season.
  • The Nittany Lions would move to 3-0 at home this season and improve to 57-25 when playing the Bryce Jordan Center over the last six seasons.
  • Penn State would win its fifth-straight game against the Big Red.

 
SCOUTING THE BIG RED

  • The Big Red comes to town at a perfect 4-0 after earning wins over Binghamton (76-69), Lafayette (90-85), Colgate (78-68) and Division III Wells College (107-48).
  • Cornell's 4-0 start is its first since 1961.
  • Cornell is averaging 87.8 points per game through its first four games and owns a balanced offensive attack as seven Big Red players average seven or more points per game.
  • Jordan Jones leads the team with 16.0 points per game, while Chris Manon follows with 13.0 per contest.
  • Kobe Dickson contributes a team-best 7.0 rebounds per contest and also leads the squad with 12 assists.

 
AGAINST CORNELL

  • Penn State is 7-5 all time against Cornell, including a perfect 6-0 record when playing the Big Red in Happy Valley.
  • The Nittany Lions have won the last four meetings, and haven't lost to Cornell since 1972.
  • Penn State won the most recent meeting, 90-59, when Cornell made the trip to the Bryce Jordan Center on Dec. 29, 2019. Lamar Stevens and Mike Watkins both tallied a game-high 19 points to lead Penn State to victory.

 
TWO EARLY-SEASON WINS

  • With fans back in the Bryce Jordan Center for the first time in 617 days, Peter and Ann Tombros Endowed Head Coach Micah Shrewsberry earned his first-career Division I head coaching victory when Penn State defeated Youngstown State 75-59 in the season opener on Nov. 10.
  • After a tough road loss at UMass on Nov. 15, Penn State bounced back with a 74-59 victory over St. Francis Brooklyn Thursday night in an Emerald Coast Classic campus site matchup. 
  • The Nittany Lions have held their opponents to 59 points in both of the wins. It marks the first time since the 2017-18 season that Penn State has held its opponent under 60 points in two of the first three games of the season. The 2017-18 squad limited both Fairleigh Dickinson and Montana to 57 points in a pair of victories within the first three games of that campaign.

 
THE BIG THREE

  • Penn State's returning veteran trio of John Harrar, Seth Lundy and Sam Sessoms lead the way for the Nittany Lions through the first three games of the season.
  • The trio of returning Nittany Lions has combined for 68.8 percent of Penn State's scoring production (141 of 205 points) while shooting a combined 60.5 percent (52-of-86) from the field.
  • Harrar, Lundy and Sessoms are also contributing 48.2 percent (55 of 114) of Penn State's rebounding.

B1G JOHN

  • Graduate student John Harrar currently leads the Big Ten and ranks sixth in Division I with 13.0 rebounds per game through the first three contests.
  • Harrar is averaging a double-double through the first three games of the season with 12.7 points and 13.0 boards per contest. He leads the team with a 71.4 (15-21) FG% that is tied for second-best in the Big Ten and 21st in the nation. The Wallingford, Pa. native has tallied two double-doubles thus far and has pulled down double-digit rebounds in all three contests.
  • Harrar is coming off a 2020-21 season that saw him earn All-Big Ten Honorable Mention laurels as he led the team with 8.8 rebounds per game and a 54.9 field goal percentage.

 
SESSOMS' STEP UP

  • Senior Sam Sessoms has stepped into a larger role this season, currently leading the team with 18.3 points per game in addition to 3.0 assists per game, which ranks second on the squad.
  • Sessoms is coming off his best game in a Penn State uniform Thursday as the senior went off for a game-high 26 points on 10-of-13 shooting and a 6-for-7 clip from the charity stripe. It was his 29th-career 20-point game, but first in a Penn State uniform.
  • Sessoms played in a key sixth-man role for the Nittany Lions last year after transferring in from an exceptional two-year career at Binghamton.

 
LUNDY'S LEAP

  • Junior Seth Lundy ranks second on the team in scoring with 16.0 ppg in addition to his 5.3 rpg. Lundy notched his fifth-career 20-point game in the season opener against Youngstown State with a team-best 23 points on 9-of-15 (60%) shooting.
  • Lundy is shooting 53.6 percent (15-28) from the field, 53.8 percent (7-13) from deep, and 91.7 percent (11-12) from the charity stripe through the first three games.
  • He went off for 30-plus points on two occasions during his sophomore season - 32 vs. VCU on Dec. 2, 2020 and 31 at Maryland on March 7, 2021.

 
UP NEXT

  • Penn State heads to Niceville, Fla. for the Emerald Coast Classic Friday and Saturday.
  • The Nittany Lions open action against LSU Friday evening at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT on CBS Sports Network.
  • Penn State will then take on Oregon State or Wake Forest at either 4 or 7 p.m. ET Saturday.