UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's basketball team improved to 6-1 on the season with a 70-57 win over Lafayette Friday night inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
The Nittany Lions used a 38-12 run from the 5:18 mark of the first half to the 7:34 mark of the second half to find the separation they would need to pull away from the Leopards. Penn State was stellar defensively after finding its footing in the early going as Lafayette shot just 22.2 percent (8-36) from the field in the game's final 26 minutes.
Jalen Pickett led Penn State with 18 points to go along with eight assists and six rebounds. Seth Lundy tallied 15 points and seven rebounds. Camren Wynter chipped in 11 points to round out the double-digit scorers.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Penn State got off to a slow start, finding itself down 19-12 just under eight minutes into the game before a Dallion Johnson 3-pointer at the 12:35 mark sparked a 33-16 Nittany Lion run to close the first half.
- The Nittany Lions shot 61.9 percent (13-21) from the field and 50 percent (5-10) from downtown in the final 12:35 of the half, while the Penn State defense thwarted Lafayette's hot start to limit the Leopards to just 16 points in the final 12-plus minutes as Penn State controlled a 42-32 lead heading into the locker room.
- Penn State was red hot to open the second half as the Nittany Lions spent the first 5:16 of the term on a 15-2 run to stretch their lead to 57-34. The PSU defense kept the Leopards scoreless for a 6-minute stretch during the streak, while five different Nittany Lions scored to put the game out of reach for Lafayette.
- The Leopards wouldn't get closer than 17 until there were less than four minutes to play and Lafayette scored the game's final 10 points, but Penn State walked away with the 70-57 win.
GAME NOTES
- The Penn State defense held its opponent under 60 points for the second-straight game. The Nittany Lions have kept all seven of their opponents under 70 points thus far this season.
- Penn State limited Lafayette to a 31.0 FG% (18-58) and 32.1 percent (9-28) mark from downtown.
- Penn State dished 17 assists on 27 made field goals. The Nittany Lions have recorded 15 or more assists in six of their seven games this season after achieving that mark in just six games total last season.
- Penn State finished with 11 3-pointers and the Nittany Lions have knocked down double-digit treys in six of their seven games.
- The Nittany Lions owned a 30-16 edge in points in the paint.
- Penn State improves to 4-0 at home this season.
- Seth Lundy has now scored in double figures in six of seven games this season after his 15-point performance against the Leopards.
- Jalen Pickett notched his fifth double-digit scoring game of the season. Pickett has led Penn State in assists in every game this season.
- Fourteen Nittany Lions saw playing time, with 10 players contributing points.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Micah Shrewsberry
Jalen Pickett and Seth Lundy
UP NEXT
- Penn State travels to its first true road game of the season Tuesday night when the Nittany Lions head to Clemson for the ACC/Big Ten Men's Basketball Challenge presented by Continental Tire. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. and the game will be nationally televised on ESPNU.
The 2022-23 Penn State men's basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.