UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Jalen Pickett and Andrew Funk combined for 46 points on 61 percent shooting to lead Penn State men's basketball to an 83-79 win over Iowa in a Big Ten matchup Sunday evening at the Bryce Jordan Center.
The Nittany Lions won their fifth-straight game to improve to 11-3 overall and 2-1 in the Big Ten. Penn State led by double-digits for much of the game until Iowa made a late run to get within two on a Kris Murray layup with 16 seconds to play. Following Penn State's missed free throw on the front end of a 1-and-1, the Hawkeyes had one last chance to tie it up or take the lead, but Seth Lundy came through with the defensive play of the game, nabbing a steal in the final seconds. The senior then hit both free throws at the other end to secure the victory.
Pickett continued to put up huge offensive numbers, finishing with 26 points, seven rebounds and six assists. He shot 10-of-16 from the floor and was a perfect 6-of-6 from the foul line. Funk hit five of his eight attempts from beyond the arc to rack up 20 points. Camren Wynter had 14 points and Lundy tallied 10 to give Penn State four players in double-digits.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Penn State was locked in offensively while taking a 44-26 through the first half. Funk made his first six shots, including four from long range, and had 16 points at the break. Pickett was right behind him with 14 points, and Wynter was 3-for-3 from the field and tallied seven points.
- The Lions closed the opening half with an 8-0 run over the final 2:13 of play. Funk had the first five points with a 3-pointer and a layup. Myles Dread hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer after Wynter found him open in the corner in front of the Iowa bench.
- Penn State still led by double-digits as late as 4:26 remaining in the game following a Wynter layup that put the Lions up 76-64.
- Funk kept Penn State in control with a free throw to put his team up 79-72 with 1:40 to play. The Lions were 14-of-16 from the line on the night.
- Iowa didn't go down lightly. Connor McCaffrey found Tony Perkins open for a 3-pointer to make it a four-point game with 1:27 on the clock. The Hawkeyes then got a stop defensively and made it count with a layup by Murray at the other end after he grabbed his own rebound off a missed 3-pointer. Just like that it was a two-point game, 79-77, with 53 seconds left.
- Pickett was clutch at the foul line, hitting a pair of free throws to make it 81-77 with 30 seconds left. Murray made a layup at the other end to set up the final sequence that was capped by the Lundy steal and free throws.
GAME NOTES
- Penn State's 11-3 record is its best through 14 games since the 2019-20 team started 12-2.
- The team's five-game winning streak is the program's longest since the 2019-20 team won eight straight.
- The Nittany Lions finished the game shooting 54.5 percent (30-55) from the field, 47.4 percent (9-19) from 3-point range and 87.5 percent (14-16) from the free throw line. Penn State shot 63.0 percent (17-27) in the opening half.
- The Nittany Lions held a 36-32 edge in points in the paint.
- Jalen Pickett's 26 points mark his most in a Penn State uniform.
- Jalen Pickett notched his fifth game this season with 20+ points, 5+ rebounds and 5+ assists.
- Andrew Funk tallied his fourth 20-point game of the season.
- Camren Wynter finished in double figures for the seventh time this season, while Lundy notched his team-best 12th double-digit effort of the year.
- Myles Dread had seven points in the win and now needs just two to reach 1,000 for his career.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Micah Shrewsberry
Jalen Pickett and Andrew Funk
UP NEXT
- Penn State hits the road for a midweek conference matchup at Michigan Wednesday night at 7 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.
The 2022-23 Penn State men's basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.