CHAMPAIGN, ILL. – A gutsy team effort and strong three-point shooting performance led the Penn State men's basketball team to a 74-59 road win at No. 17 Illinois Saturday afternoon at the State Farm Center.
Penn State controlled a nine-point halftime lead and held off several Illinois runs in the second half while shooting 50.0 percent (12-24) from 3-point range to earn the dominant road win.
Andrew Funk and Jalen Pickett scored 20 points apiece to lead four Nittany Lions in double figures. Funk was 6-for-9 from deep while Pickett added seven rebounds and six assists to round out his strong overall performance. Seth Lundy finished with 16 points and seven rebounds while Myles Dread nailed five triples for 15 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Both teams got off to a hot start and were a combined 9-for-11 from the field through the first four minutes as Illinois held an early 13-11 edge at the first media timeout.
- The Illini worked their lead to 19-14 following a 6-0 run that ended at the 11:49 mark, but Penn State responded quickly. Seven points from Pickett, a Lundy driving layup and a Dread transition 3-pointer comprised a 12-5 Nittany Lion run that put Penn State ahead 26-24 with 7:47 to play in the first half.
- The score was knotted at 30-30 two minutes later, but the Nittany Lions spent the final 3-plus minutes of the first half on a 13-4 run. Penn State was 4-for-4 from the field and 4-for-4 from the charity stripe as Pickett chipped in seven of Penn State's 13 points and the Nittany Lions controlled a 47-38 lead heading into halftime.
- Andrew Funk nailed his third 3-pointer of the game and Pickett tossed in a floater in the lane to open the second half and push Penn State's lead to double-digits at 52-38.
- Illinois scored the next nine points as Penn State went scoreless for a nearly six-minute stretch and the Ilini were back within five at 52-47.
- Funk drilled a 3-pointer off an inbounds play as the shot clock was expiring before nailing another triple on Penn State's next possession. Dread followed with his fourth trey of the night as Penn State ran off a 9-0 run in just 1:31 to seize the momentum back and take a 61-47 lead with 11 minutes to play.
- The Nittany Lion run was stretched to 14-0 out of the media timeout following a Funk jumper and Dread's fifth triple of the night as Penn State stretched its lead to 66-47 with 9:41 left on the clock.
- The Illini answered with a 7-0 stretch over the next four minutes to breath some life back into the building as Illinois pulled back within 66-54 and the crowd roared.
- Lundy converted a trio of free throws to stop the Illinois streak and Funk followed with a dagger for his sixth 3-pointer of the night to put the Penn State lead at 74-56 with just under four minutes to play.
- The Illini would never recover as the Penn State defense held Illinois to just one field goal in the final three minutes and the Nittany Lions snagged the 74-59 road victory.
GAME NOTES
- Penn State's 15-point win at #17 Illinois marked its largest margin of victory in a true road win against a ranked Big Ten team in program history. Penn State's previous largest margin of victory in a true road win at a ranked Big Ten team came in 1999, a 78-70 victory at #17/18 Purdue.
- Penn State defeated a top-20 Big Ten team on the road for the first time since Feb. 4, 2020 (75-70 at #16 Michigan State).
- Penn State earned its first true road win since Jan. 5, 2022 (74-70 at Northwestern).
- The Nittany Lions handed #17 Illinois its first home loss of the season and its largest loss of the season. The Illini, who just beat #2 Texas Tuesday, have not lost a game by double-digits this season.
- The Penn State defense held Illinois (59) 22.3 points below its season scoring average of 81.3 ppg. The Nittany Lions limited the high-flying Illini to a 44.2 percent (23-52) mark from the field and 30.4 percent (7-23) clip from deep.
- After shooting an uncharacteristically low 30.2 percent (19-63) from 3-point range in the last two games combined against Clemson and Michigan State, Penn State shot 50.0 percent (12-24) from downtown in the win over Illinois. It marked the second time this season the Nittany Lions have finished the game 50 percent or better from deep.
- Andrew Funk and Jalen Pickett each scored 20 points, marking the third time this season that two Nittany Lions have tallied 20-point efforts in the same game.
- Pickett stuffed the stat sheet once again, finishing with 20 points, seven rebounds and six assists. It marks the fourth-straight game he has finished with double-digit points and five or more rebounds and assists.
- Andrew Funk (6) and Myles Dread (5) marked the first pair of Nittany Lions to register five or more 3-pointers in the same game since Nov. 22, 2021 vs. Cornell when Sam Sessoms (6) Seth Lundy (5) did so.
- Funk and Dread both matched their season highs in 3-pointers.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head coach Micah Shrewsberry and seniors Andrew Funk & Myles Dread
UP NEXT
- The Nittany Lions will have a week layoff for final exams before returning to non-conference play with a home game against Canisius Sunday at noon inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
The 2022-23 Penn State men's basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.