PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The Penn State men's basketball team suffered a cold shooting night in a 65-45 road loss at Rutgers Tuesday night.
The Nittany Lions, one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the country, shot a season-low 4-for-26 (15.4%) from 3-point range. Jalen Pickett led Penn State with 15 points and eight rebounds. Andrew Funk and Seth Lundy contributed 12 points apiece.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Seth Lundy scored eight of Penn State first 10 points as the Nittany Lions started slow offensively and Rutgers held a 16-11 lead just over 10 minutes into the game. The Scarlet Knights used a 9-4 run over a 4:18 stretch late in the opening term to extend their advantage to 10 at 27-17 with just over three minutes to play in the first half.
- Andrew Funk drilled a 3-pointer at the 2:37 mark and Kebba Njie followed with a layup to quickly trim the Rutgers lead to five at 27-22 and force a Scarlet Knights timeout. The Nittany Lion defense held Rutgers without a field goal for the final 3:50 of the opening half, but the Scarlet Knights added five points from the free throw line to take a 32-24 lead into the locker room.
- The Nittany Lions made five of their first seven shots of the second half to put together a 10-5 run and pull within three at 37-34 just over five minutes into the half. Rutgers answered with a 14-4 run over the next 5:18 that was capped off by back-to-back 3-pointers by Aundre Hyatt to give the Scarlett Knights their largest lead yet at 51-38 with 8:28 to play.
- Penn State wouldn't get closer than eight the rest of the way as the Nittany Lions remained cold and Rutgers claimed the 65-45 win.
GAME NOTES
- The Nittany Lions came into the game averaging 10.9 3-pointers per game and a 39.4 3FG%. Penn State made just four triples and shot just 15.4 percent from deep at Rutgers.
- Jalen Pickett tallied his 18th double-digit scoring effort of the season and led Penn State in rebounds for the 11th time this season.
- Seth Lundy tallied his 17th double-digit game of the season, while Funk had his 13th.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Micah Shrewsberry
UP NEXT
- Penn State returns home for its annual THON game at noon Sunday when the Nittany Lions host Michigan inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
The 2022-23 Penn State men's basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.