Wynter Nails Game Winner as Penn State Downs Northwestern 68-65 in OvertimeWynter Nails Game Winner as Penn State Downs Northwestern 68-65 in Overtime
USA Today Sports Images

Wynter Nails Game Winner as Penn State Downs Northwestern 68-65 in Overtime

Box Score

EVANSTON, Ill. – A game-winning shot from senior Camren Wynter secured a dramatic 68-65 overtime road victory for the Penn State men's basketball team at Northwestern Wednesday night.
 
With the overtime score knotted at 65 with seven seconds left, freshman Evan Mahaffey pulled down a clutch offensive rebound to keep Penn State's possession alive before Wynter drilled the corner three to silence Northwestern's Senior Night crowd.

Wynter finished with a game-high 24 points and finished 4-for-5 from 3-point range while adding four rebounds and three assists. Andrew Funk also drilled four triples and finished with 17 points and a game-high eight rebounds. Seth Lundy added four treys of his own, tallying 14 points and six rebounds. Jalen Pickett finished with 11 assists, seven points and six rebounds.
 


 
HOW IT HAPPENED

  • The game started in a 5-5 tie before Northwestern took advantage of an uncharacteristically large amount of Nittany Lion turnovers and cold shooting from Penn State to string together a 14-2 run over the next 9:30 and pull ahead 17-7.
  • The Nittany Lions found their footing in the second half of the opening term as an Andrew Funk triple at the 7:16 mark ignited the Penn State offense to a 17-8 streak over the next six minutes. Funk and Wynter both scored six in the stretch as Penn State pulled all the way back within one at 25-24. The Wildcats added a trey to end the half, but Penn State trailed by just four at 28-24 heading into the locker room.
  • Wynter scored Penn State's first five points of the second half, but the Wildcats were still in front 33-29 just over two minutes into the second stanza. Funk made a layup before he and Lundy hit back-to-back triples to account for an 8-0 Penn State run in a quick 1:29 stretch that gave the Nittany Lions their first lead of the game at 37-33 with 16:05 to play.
  • The Wildcats answered with a 7-0 run that gave them the lead right back at 43-39 four minutes later. A Myles Dread triple at the 10:54 mark had Penn State within one at 43-42.
  • The squads alternated scoring all the way down inside four minutes to play until three triples for the Nittany Lions put them up 61-59 with 1:46 left to play. Funk knocked down his third and fourth threes of the night to help Penn State reclaim the advantage.
  • With the game tied at 61, a last-second shot for the Nittany Lions didn't fall and the game went to overtime.
  • Penn State took a 64-63 lead at the 3:12 mark of the extra period on Wynter's third triple of the game.
  • With the game tied at 65 with five seconds remaining, Evan Mahaffey ripped down a huge offensive rebound and dished it out to Funk who passed to Wynter who knocked down the game winner to give the Nittany Lions a 68-65 advantage with 0.7 seconds left on the clock.
  • The Wildcats were unable to get their last-second heave to go and the Nittany Lions earned the win.

 
GAME NOTES

  • Penn State picks up its fourth Quad 1 win this season in its third consecutive Big Ten road victory.
  • The Nittany Lions have now won four-straight games against Northwestern.
  • The win marks the first time the Nittany Lions have rallied from being down 10 points to come back and win the game since March 10, 2022 when the squad came back from a 13-point deficit against Ohio State to win 75-71.
  • After a tough shooting first half from the 3-point line, the Nittany Lions shot 10-15 (66.7 percent) from behind the arc in the second half and overtime.
  • Camren Wynter led the Nittany Lions in scoring for the second consecutive game, and the fourth time this season. Wynter finished with 24 points and a career high-tying four 3-pointers.
  • Andrew Funk posted a season-high eight rebounds to lead the Nittany Lions in the category for the first time this season. Funk finished with 17 points and two assists in addition to his season-high rebound total.
  • Jalen Pickett set a Penn State single-season assist record with his first assist of the night on a Kanye Clary basket at the 12:21 mark of the first half. The previous single-season school record was held by former standout Tim Frazier who dished 198 helpers during the 2011-12 season. Pickett's 11 assists tonight put him at 209 assists this season.
  • Myles Dread appeared in his 147th game in a Penn State uniform, a school record for most games played. John Harrar (2017-2022) previously held the record with 146 games played.

  
FROM THE SOURCE
Senior+ Guard Camren Wynter and Head Coach Micah Shrewsberry

 
UP NEXT

  • The Nittany Lions return home Sunday to host #21 Maryland on Senior Day presented by the Penn State Alumni Association.

 
The 2022-23 Penn State men's basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.