UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – A cold-shooting second half doomed the Penn State men's basketball team as the Nittany Lions fell 67-58 to RV/RV Michigan State in the Big Ten opener Wednesday night at the Bryce Jordan Center.
The back-and-forth battle saw 12 lead changes and four tie scores and was a one-possession contest until the final two minutes. Penn State entered the game leading the nation in 3-pointers made per game, but went cold in the second half, shooting just 1-for-9 from deep in the final 20 minutes.
Seth Lundy finished with a team-best 16 points. Jalen Pickett recorded 13 points, a career-best 17 rebounds and eight assists. Camryn Wynter also finished in double figures with 10 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Penn State broke open an early 4-4 tie with a 14-2 run to surge out to an early 16-6 lead less than eight minutes into the game.
- The Spartans slowly clawed back over the remainder of the opening half as Penn State was just 6-for-15 from the field in the final 12:19. MSU momentarily took the lead in the final minute before a Pickett layup knotted the score at 35 heading into halftime.
- The teams traded leads and neither team led by more than three in the first 13 minutes of the second half until a Tyson Walker 3-point capped a 7-2 Spartan stretch that put MSU ahead 56-52 with 6:51 to play.
- Penn State was back within two at 56-54 and 58-56, but a Joey Hauser layup sparked a 9-2 Spartan run in the game's final 2:22. Penn State went 0-for-4 in the final two minutes and the Spartans sealed the contest with a 7-for-9 showing at the charity stripe to leave Happy Valley with the 67-58 victory.
GAME NOTES
- Jalen Pickett recorded a career-high 17 rebounds in the contest, surpassing his mark of 14 that achieved while playing for Siena in a triple-overtime game against Quinnipiac in 2019. It is the first time a Nittany Lion has recorded 15 or more rebounds since John Harrar pulled in 17 boards on March 6 against Rutgers.
- Pickett paired his 17 rebounds with 13 points to record his third double-double of the season.
- Seth Lundy scored in double figures for a team-leading eighth time this season.
- Penn State finished just 29.6 percent (8-for-27) from 3-point range after entering the game with a 40.4 percent 3-point field goal percentage that ranked in the top 15 in the country.
- The Nittany Lions were just 1-for-9 (11.1%) from beyond the arc in the second half.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Micah Shrewsberry
Jalen Pickett and Seth Lundy
UP NEXT
- Penn State continues conference play Saturday when the Nittany Lions travel to take on #17 Illinois in a noon battle on the Big Ten Network.
The 2022-23 Penn State men's basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.