UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's basketball found itself in another tight defensive battle, but fell just short to the visiting Michigan Wolverines, 58-57, Tuesday evening at the Bryce Jordan Center.
The two teams shot a combined 12-for-55 in the second half, but the Wolverines held the heavy advantage at the charity stripe to seal the victory.
Seniors Jalen Pickett and Sam Sessoms lead the Nittany Lions in scoring with 14 and 13, respectively.
Graduate student John Harrar added eight points on 3-of-4 shooting and pulled down a team-high seven boards.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Penn State started the game 4-of-6 from the field, including four points and two rebounds from Harrar in the opening four minutes to take a slight 9-7 lead at the first media timeout of the evening.
- The Nittany Lions continued to shoot well, especially in the paint, going on a streak of 5-of-6 field goals to force Michigan to call an early timeout with 9:41 remaining in the half and a 20-19 home-team advantage.
- Pickett capped an 18-4 Penn State run over a seven-minute span while the Wolverines went nearly that whole span without a field goal for Penn State to go up double-digits, 34-23, with just under four minutes left in the opening period.
- The visitors went on an 11-0 run of their own to end the first half to tie the game at 34-34 going into the locker room.
- Both teams were cold on the offensive end to start the second half, shooting a combined 1-of-11 with Michigan scoring the only basket to take the lead at the under-16 media timeout for the first time since 10:45 in the first half.
- It continued to be a defensive half as both teams shot just over 20 percent from the field and the Wolverines held the slight 48-46 edge at the under-4 timeout with Harrar set to go to the charity stripe out of the break for Penn State's first two attempts of the game.
- Harrar converted both to tie the game at 48-48 with 3:37 remaining in regulation. Wolverines' leading scorer Hunter Dickinson made two free throws and Eli Books had a second-chance jumper to put the visitors back up four.
- Free throws by the Nittany Lions got them within two, but Michigan was able to close out the game from the charity stripe for the 58-57 win.
GAME NOTES
- The Nittany Lion defense held Michigan 15 points below their season scoring average of 73.1. It marks the 13th opponent in the last 17 games who have been held at least 10 points below their season scoring average in regulation.
- Seniors Jalen Pickett and Sam Sessoms recorded their 15th and 12th, respectively, double-digit scoring games of the season.
- Graduate student John Harrar eclipsed the 700-career points mark and now sits at 707 points and 722 rebounds in his time as a Penn Stater.
- Senior Myles Dread has hit at least one 3-pointer in 16 of 20 games this season, including three against Michigan.
- The Wolverines made 19 of 22 attempts from the charity stripe. Penn State got just seven chances from the free throw line, making six of them.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Micah Shrewsberry
Seniors Sam Sessoms and Jalen Pickett
UP NEXT
Penn State returns to the road Saturday night when the Nittany Lions travel to Minnesota for an 8:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. CT tipoff on Big Ten Network.
The 2021-22 Penn State men's basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.