EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Penn State men's basketball team started out strong before it found itself in a hole it could never get out of in a tough 80-64 defeat at #19/20 Michigan State Saturday afternoon.
Junior Seth Lundy scored a game-high 18 points and added seven rebounds to lead four Nittany Lions in double figures. Graduate student John Harrar recorded his fifth double-double of the young season with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Senior Jalen Pickett added 13 points and five assists, while senior Sam Sessoms chipped in 12 points and four rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- A back-and-forth start to the game saw Penn State make 11 of its first 22 shots as eight points from both Pickett and Lundy and seven from Harrar helped make it at two-point game at 27-25 with just over six minutes left in the opening term.
- Penn State went cold in the final six minutes, and the Spartans closed the half on a 15-4 streak to take a 42-29 lead into the locker room.
- A Harrar dunk opened the second half, but the Spartans scored the next nine to take their largest lead yet at 51-32.
- After starting the game 0-for-10 from deep, Penn State made two 3-pointers to help fuel 14-7 streak that pulled the Nittany Lions back within 12 at 58-46 with 13:27 left to play.
- The Spartans answered with back-to-back threes and Penn State responded once again, finding itself back within 12 at 69-57 with 5:39 left on the clock. The Nittany Lions wouldn't get closer, however, as the 19th-ranked Spartans finished out the victory.
GAME NOTES
- Lundy has now scored in double figures in nine of 10 games this season.
- Harrar's double-double is his fifth of the season and the 11th of his career.
- Pickett has now scored in double figures in six of the last seven games. He led Penn State in assists for the sixth time this season.
- Sessoms notched his seventh double-digit scoring game of the season.
- Transfer Greg Lee returned from injury to make his Penn State debut, finishing with five points and an assist in 15 minutes of action.
- The Nittany Lions committed just seven turnovers.
- The Nittany Lions started the game 0-for-10 from three-point range, but went 5-for-10 to close the game to finish 5-for-20.
- Michigan State held a 31-3 advantage in fast-break points. The Spartans' depth shined with eight players scoring five or more points.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Micah Shrewsberry
UP NEXT
- Penn State shifts its focus to finals week before returning to action Saturday afternoon at VCU. Tipoff from Richmond is slated for 3:30 p.m. on NBC Sports Network.