CLEMSON, S.C. – The Penn State men's basketball team rallied from a seven-point deficit in the final 51 seconds of regulation and graduate student Andrew Funk banked in a game-tying 3-pointer to force overtime, but the Nittany Lions eventually fell 101-94 in double-overtime at Clemson Tuesday night in the ACC/Big Ten Men's Basketball Challenge presented by Continental Tire.
Graduate student Camren Wynter led Penn State with 26 points with the help of an 11-for-12 effort from the free throw line. Jalen Pickett finished with 23 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, while Seth Lundy tallied a double-double with 23 points and 12 rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- A pair of early 3-pointers from Wynter and four points from Pickett helped the Nittany Lions control an early 10-3 lead at the first media timeout.
- Penn State held onto the lead until back-to-back 3-pointers from Clemson's PJ Hall tied the game at 21 with 6:35 left on the first-half clock.
- The Nittany Lions made their next six shots to answer with a 14-4 run over the next 4:12 and put Penn State back in control at 35-25 with just over two minutes left in the opening term. The Tigers responded with a pair of baskets in the final minutes, but Penn State carried a 35-29 lead into halftime.
- Clemson opened the second half with a 13-2 run to surge ahead 42-37 just under five minutes into the second half.
- Wynter drained a 3-pointer and a jumper to momentarily snap Penn State's cold spell and pull the Nittany Lions back within one at 46-45, but Clemson scored eight of the next 10 points to take a 54-47 lead with 7:46 to play.
- A trio of Lundy free throws opened a 10-2 Penn State run over the next 2:33 that was capped off by a Lundy corner trey that knotted the score at 58 with 4:35 to play.
- The Nittany Lions were within one at 63-62 with 2:49 to play, but four Clemson free throws and Hunter Tyson's third 3-pointer of the night comprised a 7-2 Tiger that gave Clemson a 69-62 lead with 51 seconds to play.
- A Pickett layup and pair of free throws from both Lundy and Wynter brought Penn State closer and the Nittany Lions were down 71-68 with 10 seconds to play. Funk banked a game-tying 3-pointer with just under five seconds left on the clock to send the game to overtime.
- Neither team led by more than two in the back-and-forth first overtime period. Penn State was up 83-81 following a Wynter jumper with 21 seconds left, but Clemson forced double overtime with a Hall layup with five seconds left.
- The two teams were tied at 88 just over two minutes into the second overtime period following a Lundy triple. A quick 6-0 Clemson spurt in a 1:22 stretch gave the Tigers the edge before Clemson went 7-for-8 at the line in the final 50 seconds to seal the 101-94 double-overtime victory.
GAME NOTES
- Penn State had three players (Wynter 26, Lundy 23, Pickett 23) finish with 20-plus points for the first time since Dec. 20, 2006 against VMI (Claxton, Cornley, Hassell).
- The double-overtime game was Penn State's first since Jan. 31, 2022 when the Nittany Lions defeated Iowa 90-86 in double-overtime at the Bryce Jordan Center.
- The Nittany Lions shot 86.2 percent (25-29) from the free throw line.
- Clemson shot 50.8 percent (32-63) from the field and 52.4 percent (11-21) from 3-point range compared to Penn State's 40.8 FG% (29-71) and 30.6 3FG% (11-36).
- Wynter scored a season-high 23 points behind a 6-for-12 showing from the field and 11-for-12 effort from the charity stripe.
- Lundy notched his first double-double of the season with 23 points and 12 rebounds.
- Pickett tallied his third 20-point game of the season.
- The Nittany Lions are now 11-11 all-time in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
UP NEXT
- Penn State will have a week layoff before opening Big Ten play against #20 Michigan State on Wednesday, Dec. 7. Tipoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. from the Bryce Jordan Center and the game will be nationally televised on the Big Ten Network.
The 2022-23 Penn State men's basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.