UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's basketball team used a 22-4 run over a 6:27 span in the second half to pull away for a dominant 74-54 win over Wagner Wednesday night inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
The Nittany Lion defense shined once again, holding Wagner 15 points under its season scoring average and forcing 15 Seahawk turnovers. The Penn State offense fired on all cylinders in the second half and the Nittany Lions finished the game with a season-high 18 assists.
Six Penn State players finished with eight or more points, led by seniors Jalen Pickett and Sam Sessoms with 16 apiece. Graduate student John Harrar added 12 points and seven rebounds, while junior Seth Lundy chipped in 10 points and six rebounds. Senior Myles Dread drained a trio of 3-pointers for nine points, while Jalanni White added eight points and five rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- A slow offensive start for both sides had the game in an 8-8 tie before Sessoms drilled back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Nittany Lions a 14-8 edge with 11:41 left on the first-half clock.
- Penn State was ahead 21-14 following a pair of Harrar free throws and a Pickett trey at 7:38, but the Seahawks used a 7-0 run to knot the score at 21-all just over two minutes later.
- A pair of White free throws broke a 23-23 tie and sparked a 9-4 Penn State run that included a key 3-pointer from Dread as the Nittany Lions took a 32-27 lead into halftime.
- Pickett scored six of Penn State's first eight points in the second half as the Nittany Lions worked their lead to 40-33 just over four minutes into the term.
- After the Seahawks trimmed the lead to five, a Sessoms 3-pointer at the 14:41 mark then sparked the game-changing 22-4 run. Penn State was 8-for-10 from the field and 4-for-4 from 3-point range during the streak that saw baskets from six different Nittany Lions.
- The 22-4 run gave Penn State a 62-39 lead with 8:37 left to play and the Seahawks wouldn't get closer than 17 the rest of the way as Penn State picked up the dominant 20-point win.
GAME NOTES
- Penn State shot 53.8 percent (14-26) from the field and drilled five 3-pointers in the second half.
- The Penn State defense kept its opponent under 60 points for the fourth time this season and held its opponent under 60 in regulation for the fifth time (LSU scored 58 in regulation and finished with 68 in overtime).
- Penn State dished a season-high 18 assists, led by five from Sessoms and four from Pickett.
- Penn State had a season-high nine steals. Lundy led the way with three steals.
- Penn State out-rebounded Wagner 33-27, marking the seventh time this season that the Nittany Lions have outrebounded their opponent.
- The Nittany Lions are now 5-0 all-time against Wagner.
- With his four assists tonight, Jalen Pickett surpassed the 500 career assists mark and currently sits at 502. Pickett tallied 463 assists in his three seasons at Siena before coming to Penn State.
- Harrar scored 12 points and reached the 600-career point mark in the process. The big man now has over 600 career points and 600 career rebounds.
- Lundy has now scored in double figures in all but one game this season.
- Andy Christos, Irekefe Oweh, Ishaan Jagiasi, and Dan Conlan entered the game, getting their first minutes of the season in the final moments of the win.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Micah Shrewsberry
Sam Sessoms and Seth Lundy
UP NEXT
- Penn State travels to East Lansing, Mich. for its first Big Ten road battle of the season Saturday when the Nittany Lions take on #19/20 Michigan State at 2 p.m. on the Big Ten Network .
The 2021-22 Penn State men's basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.