LINCOLN, Neb. – The Penn State men's basketball team fought until the finish but couldn't overcome a slow start in a 72-63 loss at Nebraska Sunday afternoon.
The Nittany Lions trailed by as much as 15 in the first half and were within three in the final minutes, but Nebraska held on for the 72-63 victory.
Senior Seth Lundy drilled eight 3-pointers to finish with a team-high 24 points. Jalen Pickett tallied 15 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, while Andrew Funk finished with 14 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Huskers held a two-point lead at 15-13 just over five minutes into the game before rattling off an 11-0 run over the next four minutes to take a 26-13 advantage midway through the first half.
- A Kebba Njie putback was followed by Lundy's third 3-pointer of the night and a Pickett basket as Penn State found its footing to snap the Husker streak and pull within six at 26-20 with 7:10 left on the first-half clock.
- Nebraska answered back with an 11-2 run over the next three minutes to put Penn State in a 15-point hole at 37-22. Lundy nailed back-to-back triples, his fourth and fifth of the game, to end the first half as Penn State kept Nebraska off the board for the final 3:20 to pull within single digits at 37-28 heading into halftime.
- Nebraska's Keisei Tominaga opened the second half with a 3-pointer, but Penn State responded quickly and made three triples of its own in the next four minutes as the Nittany Lions went on an 11-5 streak to narrow the Husker lead to six at 45-39.
- The teams exchanged runs before back-to-back 3-pointers from Funk had the Nittany Lions within three at 53-50 with 8:51 to play. Penn State was still within three three minutes later before Tominaga scored the next five to put the Husker lead at 62-54.
- Back-to-back Pickett baskets had Penn State back within four at 62-58 with 3:21 left on the clock. Nebraska worked its lead to nine before Funk drilled a trey with 40 seconds to play that made it a two-possession game once again at 69-63, but the Huskers defense kept the Nittany Lions off the board the rest of the way as Nebraska walked away with the 72-63 win.
GAME NOTES
- Penn State and Nebraska split the regular season series, with each team winning at home.
- The Nittany Lions finished the game with 14 3-pointers, marking the 14th game this season Penn State has drilled double-digit triples.
- Nebraska was 10-for-18 at the free throw line, while Penn State was just 1-for-4.
- Seth Lundy made a career-best eight 3-pointers, finishing 8-for-13 from deep. It is his second game this season with five or more 3-pointers after drilling seven in a win over Indiana on Jan. 11.
- Freshman Kebba Njie pulled down a career-best nine rebounds.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Micah Shrewsberry
UP NEXT
- Penn State returns home to the Bryce Jordan Center Wednesday night to host Wisconsin at 8:30 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.
The 2022-23 Penn State men's basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.