UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's basketball team dominated St. Francis (Pa.) from start to finish in its 83-53 victory inside the Bryce Jordan Center on Tuesday night.
Penn State led from wire-to-wire in the full team effort that saw four Nittany Lions finish in double figures and 10 different players score. The Penn State defense forced 20 turnovers and held the Red Flash to a 35.0 FG% and 26.3 percent clip from downtown.
Sophomore Kanye Clary led the Nittany Lions with 14 points while adding three assists. Graduate student Qudus Wahab finished with 12 points on 4-for-5 shooting and a team-best six rebounds, while Zach Hicks also added 12 points. Ace Baldwin Jr. rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11 points to go along with four assists and three steals.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Penn State burst out of the gates, getting out to a quick 10-2 lead through the first 4:10 as the Nittany Lion defense didn't allow the Red Flash to score until the 16:06 mark.
- After a St. Francis bucket, the Nittany Lions rattled off 18 of the next 20 points over a 5:32 stretch as Penn State was 6-for-10 from the field with three triples and the Nittany Lion lead reached 28-6 with 9:13 left on the first-half clock.
- The Nittany Lions kept their foot on the gas for the remainder of the half as Penn State wrapped up the opening term shooting 54.8 percent from the field while holding SFU to a 28.0 percent clip and forcing 10 Red Flash turnovers. Penn State took a dominant 46-18 lead into the locker room at halftime.
- The two teams played an even first nine minutes of the second half before Penn State held St. Francis scoreless for a six-plus minute stretch from 10:46 to 4:33 and stretched their lead to 75-37 with 4:41 to play. The Red Flash were never able to recover as Penn State earned the dominant 83-53 win.
GAME NOTES
- Penn State starts the season 3-0 for the second-straight year and the third time in the last five years.
- The Nittany Lions won their 11th-straight non-conference home game.
- Penn State recorded its second 30-plus-point win of the season.
- Penn State's wire-to-wire win over St. Francis marked its second game this season in which the Nittany Lions haven't trailed as PSU opened the season with a wire-to-wire win over Delaware State on Nov. 6.
- Penn State put up 46 points in the first half on 17-of-31 shooting. It was the first time the Nittany Lions scored 45+ points in the opening frame since they put up 45 on Feb. 18, 2023 at Minnesota.
- The Nittany Lion defense helped the team open up a 30-point lead in the first half, holding St. Francis to a 28 percent field goal percentage in the frame, including a 1-for-10 mark from behind the arc. The Nittany Lions concluded the first half up by 28 points.
- North Carolina transfer Puff Johnson played in his first game as a Nittany Lion tonight, coming off the bench and contributing six points and four rebounds in 16 minutes.
- Sophomore Kanye Clary has connected on a three-pointer in every game of the season thus far, making six in total this year. In just three games, Clary tied his combined total from a season ago.
- Clary scored in double figures for the third-straight game to open his season, finishing with 14 points, three assists, one rebound, and one steal.
- With 12 points in the game tonight, Qudus Wahab set his best mark as a Nittany Lion. Wahab reached double figures for the second-straight game thanks to a ten-point first half (4-4 from the floor).
- Demetrius Lilley set career-highs with eight points and five rebounds in tonight's game. Lilley added a steal to his final line.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Mike Rhoades
Ace Baldwin Jr. and Kanye Clary
HIGHLIGHTS
UP NEXT
- The Nittany Lions close out their season-opening four-game homestand with a tough test against defending Ohio Valley Conference champion Morehead State Friday night at 7 p.m. on Peacock.
The 2023-24 Penn State men's basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.