CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Penn State men's basketball team trimmed a 16-point deficit down to two and had a chance to win the game at the end, but RV/RV Virginia Tech held on in the final seconds to hand the Nittany Lions their first loss of the season, 61-59, in the Charleston Classic semifinal round Friday afternoon at TD Arena.
Penn State will now face either Colorado State or College of Charleston Sunday at 6 p.m. in the Charleston Classic third-place game on ESPNU.
The Hokies got out to a 16-point lead just 10 minutes into the game, but Penn State chipped away and made it a one-possession game in the final four minutes. Andrew Funk led the Nittany Lions with 21 points, 13 of which came in the second half. Myles Dread drilled five 3-pointers for a season-best 15 points. Jalen Pickett finished with nine points, eight assists and seven rebounds. Seth Lundy led the team with nine rebounds, while freshman Evan Mahaffey was a big spark off the bench in the second half, adding four points and five rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Shots weren't falling in the early going for the Nittany Lions as Penn State shot 3-for-15 in the opening 10 minutes and Virginia Tech was able to race out to a quick 22-6 lead.
- Dread drained a 3-pointer at the 9:18 mark to get the Penn State offense back in rhythm as the Nittany Lions shot 8-for-12 from the field and 5-for-8 from deep for the remainder of the half. Funk scored nine in that stretch thanks to a trio of 3-pointers as Penn State trimmed what was once a 16-point Hokie lead down to eight at 37-29 heading into the locker room.
- The Nittany Lions were cold once again to start the second half, but the Penn State defense kept the Nittany Lions in striking distance through the first 10 minutes. Seth Lundy found a cutting Funk under the basket to spark a 7-3 Penn State run that was kept by a Pickett corner 3-pointer at the 8:48 mark as the Nittany Lions pulled within four and forced a Virginia Tech timeout.
- A Dread triple at the 6:26 mark made it a one-possession game at 51-49. The Hokies eventually stretched their lead back to six five minutes later, but Dread and Funk answered with a pair of threes at the 1:37 and 41-second marks to pull Penn State back within two at 61-59.
- The Nittany Lions forced a missed Hokie 3-pointer on Virginia Tech's ensuing possession to give Penn State back the ball with a chance to win it. Following a pair of called timeouts, the Hokies came up with a steal in the paint to capture the 61-59 win.
GAME NOTES
- The Hokies came into the game averaging 85.5 ppg and the Nittany Lions limited Virginia Tech to a season-low 61 points.
- The Penn State defense has kept all five of its opponents under 70 points this season.
- The Nittany Lions held Virginia Tech to a 3-for-19 (15.8%) mark from 3-point range.
- Penn State finished the game with 11 3-pointers and the Nittany Lions have now made double-digit threes in all five of their games this season.
- Myles Dread (5) and Andrew Funk (5) have knocked down multiple three-pointers in every game this season. Dread's five treys tied his career high.
- The Nittany Lions have recorded 15 or more assists in every game this season.
UP NEXT
- Penn State will now face either Colorado State or the College of Charleston in the third-place game of the Charleston Classic Sunday at 6 p.m. on ESPNU.
The 2022-23 Penn State men's basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.