UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's basketball team erased a 16-point deficit and closed the game on a 20-7 run, capped off by an offensive rebound and putback by Camren Wynter with 0.5 seconds to play, to give the Nittany Lions a 65-64 victory over #21 Maryland Sunday afternoon inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
Penn State, which trailed by as many as 16 points and was down by 12 with 6:49 to go, trimmed the lead down and eventually took its first lead since 12:45 in the first half when Wynter laid one in to give the Lions a one-point edge with 43 seconds left. The Terrapins scored with 19 seconds remaining, leading to Penn State's final offensive possession. The Nittany Lions missed a 3-pointer with five seconds to go, but Wynter grabbed the rebound and scored to put home his second-straight game-winning shot. Maryland's ensuing Hail Mary inbounds pass was knocked down by Penn State to secure the win.
It was the seniors that shined on Senior Day as Jalen Pickett finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and seven assists to lead the Nittany Lions. Senior Andrew Funk had four 3-pointers, three of which came in Penn State's second-half rally, and finished with 14 points. Senior Myles Dread scored all 11 of his points in the final 14:10 and finished with a game-high +13 plus-minus rating.
The Nittany Lions clinched a top-10 seed in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament, meaning Penn State will get a first-round bye and open action Thursday in the second round. Seeding and matchups will be decided upon the completion of Sunday's games around the league.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Nittany Lions jumped out to an early 10-4 lead at the 14:37 mark, which included a pair of threes from Pickett and Funk. However, the Terps would use a 24-5 run to take a 28-15 lead with 5:18 to go in the first half.
- A layup from freshman Kanye Clary and a jumper from Wynter trimmed the deficit to nine before Maryland would go on to score the next seven. Pickett hit a three at the buzzer to trim Maryland's lead to 35-22 at halftime.
- Penn State opened up the second half on an 20-13 run to cut the Maryland lead to eight points. Pickett got the Terps lead down to single digits for the first time since the 6:21 minute mark of the first half when he hit a jumper with 10:03 to go in the game. After Maryland hit a pair of free throws on the ensuing possession, Dread drilled a three to slim the lead to seven points.
- The Terrapins went on to score the next five points to up the lead to 12 with 6:49 to go in the contest. The Nittany Lions from there scored nine of the next 11 points, on two threes from Funk and another three from Dread, making it a 59-54 Maryland advantage with 4:26 remaining. Maryland hit a jumper on the following possession to bring the lead back up to seven.
- With 3:26 to go, Lundy was fouled on a three-point attempt and made all three from the charity stripe. After the Terrapins hit 1-of-2 free throws on the other end, Lundy made a layup and Funk hit a jumper to trim the lead to just one point. Following a defensive stop, Wynter made a layup with 43 seconds to go to give Penn State its first lead since the 12:45 mark in the first half.
- Maryland answered with 19 seconds to go to take a 64-63 lead on a layup. Following a timeout, Penn State took the ball down to the other end. Lundy missed a three, but Wynter grabbed the rebound and put it back in to give the Nittany Lions the lead and eventual win with 0.5 seconds.
GAME NOTES
- Penn State finishes the regular season at 10-10 in conference play, the eighth time the program has achieved a .500 or better record in its 31 seasons in the Big Ten.
- The Nittany Lions finished 13-3 at the Bryce Jordan Center this season. It's 13 wins are tied for fourth most in a season since the team moved to the BJC in 1996.
- Penn State overcame a 16-point deficit, the largest that the team has overcome to win since March 7, 2021 at Maryland (16).
- This marked Penn State's second Top-25 win this season (Dec. 10, 2022 against Illinois, 74-59).
- Penn State earned its fifth Quad 1 win of season.
- Camren Wynter hit the game-winning layup with 0.5 seconds left, his second-straight game winning shot.
- Jalen Pickett has scored double-digit points in 28 of 31 games this season. Pickett finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
- Pickett led the Nittany Lions with four steals, the most for a PSU player since Seth Lundy recorded three on Feb. 8 against Wisconsin.
- Andrew Funk, the Big Ten's leader in 3FG made, has made three or more 3-pointers in 16 games this season.
- Myles Dread scored in double figures for the seventh time this season.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Micah Shrewsberry
Penn State Seniors
UP NEXT
- The Nittany Lions now turn their attention to next week's Big Ten Tournament at the United Center in Chicago. Seeding and matchups will be finalized upon the completion of Sunday's regular-season contests around the league.
The 2022-23 Penn State men's basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.