UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's basketball team scored 55 second-half points and shot nearly 60 percent from the floor in a dominant 97-67 win over Canisius Sunday afternoon in non-conference action at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Thirteen Nittany Lions scored and all 16 rostered players saw action. The Nittany Lions shot 58 percent (40-69) from the field, including an impressive 59.1 percent (13-22) from beyond the arc. Penn State dished 22 assists compared to just three turnovers.
Jalen Pickett led Penn State with 16 points and nine assists, while Andrew Funk drilled five second-half 3-pointers to finish with 15 points. Seth Lundy tallied 10 points and six rebounds in just 13 minutes before leaving the game with an injury. Freshman Kanye Clary rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Golden Griffins started hot, making eight of their first 11 shots, to take an early 20-11 lead just over seven minutes into the game.
- Back-to-back buckets from Pickett ignited a 17-8 Nittany Lion run over the next four-plus minutes. Pickett scored nine during stretch as Penn State made 8-of-9 shots to come back and knot the score at 28-28 with 7:16 left in the opening term.
- A Seth Lundy 3-pointer then sparked a 14-2 Nittany Lion streak as the Penn State defense stepped up to hold Canisius to a 1-for-8 clip from the field over a nearly six-minute stretch and the Nittany Lion lead was stretched to 42-31. The Golden Griffins scored the final two baskets of the half, but Penn State still controlled a 42-36 lead heading into halftime.
- The Nittany Lions scored seven points in the first 1:34 of the second half to stretch their advantage to 49-36 and force a quick Canisius timeout. Penn State stayed hot, increasing its run to 22-2 which included three makes from beyond the arc by Andrew Funk to put Penn State ahead 64-38 at the 14:42 mark.
- Funk added two more threes, scoring all five threes in the second half to contribute to a 72-49 lead at the 10:55 mark.
- The Nittany Lions held onto their dominant lead, with freshmen Jameel Brown, Demetrius Lilley and Kanye Clary all scoring baskets down the stretch as Penn State picked up the 97-67 win over Canisius.
GAME NOTES
- Penn State's 97 points mark a season high. It's the Nittany Lions' fourth 90-plus point game of the season.
- The Nittany Lions dished 22 assists compared to just 3 turnovers. It's Penn State's third 20-plus assist game of the season.
- Penn State's 55-point second half marked its highest scoring half of the season.
- Penn State's 58.0 FG% (40-69) and 59.1 3FG% (13-22) are both season highs.
- The Nittany Lions shot 50% or better from beyond the arc for the second-straight game.
- Penn State freshmen Kanye Clary (10), Evan Mahaffey (6), Jameel Brown (5) and Demetrius Lilley (4) all finished with career-high points. Classmate Kebba Njie pulled down a career-best eight rebounds to go along with his eight points.
- Jalen Pickett led the team in scoring for the sixth time this season and tallied his 10th game with more than five assists.
- Funk shot a blistering 5-for-6 (83.3%) from 3-point range. He is now 73.3% (11-for-15) in his last two games combined.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Micah Shrewsberry
Freshmen Kanye Clary and Kebba Njie
UP NEXT
- Penn State remains home to host Quinnipiac Thursday evening at 8:30 p.m. inside the Bryce Jordan Center. The game will be televised nationally on the Big Ten Network.
The 2022-23 Penn State men's basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.