CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Penn State men's basketball team fended off a furious Furman comeback attempt as the Nittany Lions earned a 73-68 win over the Paladins in the opening game of the Charleston Classic Thursday at TD Arena. Penn State advances through the winners bracket and will take on Virginia Tech Friday at noon on ESPN2.
The Nittany Lions got off to a hot start and led by as much as 21 in the first half. Furman heated up in the second half, slowly chipping away at the Penn State lead until it was a one-point game in the final two minutes. The Penn State defense held on, however, and added four clutch points from Seth Lundy in the final 1:22 to close out the 73-68 victory.
Lundy finished with 20 points and a team-best seven rebounds, while senior+ guard Jalen Pickett finished with 20 points and team-best seven assists. Myles Dread knocked down three triples for nine points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Furman got out to an early 5-0 lead, but Penn State answered quickly with a 14-4 run over the next 3:49 to pull in front 14-9 six minutes into the game.
- The Nittany Lions exploded for 24 points in the next six-plus minutes as Dread drained a trio of treys to lead the way and Penn State's high-powered offense quickly put the Nittany Lions up 41-21 with 6:44 left in the first half.
- The Penn State defense took it from there to close out the half, as the Nittany Lions controlled a 46-29 lead heading into the halftime break.
- The Paladins came out of halftime on a 17-9 run to cut the Nittany Lion lead to 11 with 13:27 left in the game.
- Furman chipped away at the Penn State lead and got it down to four points with just under five minutes remaining.
- Andrew Funk knocked down a huge triple to halt a 10-0 Furman run, putting Penn State up 66-59 at the 4:24 mark of the second half.
- Furman put up four-straight points to get within three, but once again was stymied by a clutch Funk 3-pointer.
- The Paladins pulled within one point with 1:48 left in the half, but yet another clutch bucket by the Nittany Lions, this time by Lundy, made the score 71-68 still in favor of Penn State.
- The Nittany Lion defense stood tall and forced two missed 3-pointers by the Paladins to keep the lead intact. Lundy drew a foul on the defensive rebound and drilled two clutch free throws to seal the 73-68 victory for Penn State.
GAME NOTES
- Penn State starts the season 4-0 for the first time since the 2019-20 season.
- The Penn State defense held Furman to a 42.2 percent mark from the field and 32.4 percent clip from downtown. The Paladins came into the game averaging 90.0 points per game with a 55.9 FG%.
- The Nittany Lions are now shooting 46.2 percent from 3-point range while averaging 13.8 3-pointers per game through four games.
- The Nittany Lions have recorded 16 or more assists in every game this season after dishing 16 tonight.
- Jalen Pickett notched his second 20-point game of the season. He started the game 7-for-7 from the floor, not missing a shot until the 17:18 mark of the second half.
- Seth Lundy tallied his first 20-point game of the season.
- Myles Dread (3) and Andrew Funk (2) have each knocked down multiple three-pointers in every game this season.
- Senior+ guard Camren Wynter eclipsed 1,700 career points with his seven points this afternoon.
UP NEXT
- Penn State will face Virginia Tech in the Charleston Classic semifinals at noon Friday on ESPN2. The Hokies beat Old Dominion 75-71 in their opening round matchup Thursday afternoon.
The 2022-23 Penn State men's basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.