UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's basketball team forced 29 Morehead State turnovers and scored 30 points from the free throw line as the Nittany Lions took down the defending Ohio Valley Conference champion Eagles, 74-51, to move to 4-0 on the season Friday night inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
The Nittany Lions held a 32-2 edge in points scored off turnovers. Penn State shot 78.9 percent (30-for-38) from the free throw line en route to the dominant win.
Graduate student Qudus Wahab tallied his second double-double of the season with 14 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Sophomore Kanye Clary also registered 14 points to go along with four rebounds, two assists and two steals. Senior Ace Baldwin Jr. was a menace all over the court, finishing with 12 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Penn State's defense forced five Morehead State turnovers in the first six minutes as the Nittany Lions got out to an early 10-4 lead. The Eagles answered with a 10-0 run over a 2:08 stretch to take a 14-10 advantage midway through the opening half.
- The Eagles led 19-16 before a flagrant 2 foul and ejection of a Morehead State player at the 6:45 mark. Ace Baldwin Jr. responded with two free throws and Kanye Clary converted a jumper to spark an 8-0 Penn State streak over the next 1:10 that put the Nittany Lions back in front at 24-19 with 5:35 left on the first-half clock.
- That 8-0 stretch would end up being the front end of a 21-7 Penn State run to close the opening half. Penn State forced eight Morehead State turnovers and went 12-for-15 from the free throw line in the final five and a half minutes as the Nittany Lions took a 37-26 lead into the locker room.
- A Wahab layup and five points from Baldwin Jr. opened the second half as Penn State held the Eagles scoreless for the first 4:20 to pull ahead 44-26.
- Morehead State wouldn't get closer than 15 the rest of the way and the Penn State lead reached as much 27 as Penn State secured a 4-0 start to the season with a 74-51 win.
GAME NOTES
- The Nittany Lions begin their season 4-0 for the second-consecutive year and the third time in the last five years.
- The Nittany Lions have now won 12-straight non-conference home games.
- Through four games this season, the Nittany Lions are holding their opponents to a stingy 19.7 percent (13-66) mark from 3-point range.
- Penn State forced 19 first half turnovers on defense, meeting its season average per game in just 20 minutes of work. The team turned defense into offense, generating 19 points off its 19 turnovers in the first half.
- In the game, Penn State forced 29 turnovers, with six Nittany Lions collecting multiple steals.
- Penn State made 38 trips to the free throw line, a season high, and converted 30 of them, a 78.9 percent effort.
- Penn State had three players scored in double figures in the game. Clary (14), Wahab (14), and Baldwin Jr. (12) each reached the double-digit plateau.
- In addition to his third-straight double-figure scoring effort, Wahab set career-best marks in both free throws made (10) and attempted (13). The Nittany Lion big man also secured his second double-double of the season with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
- Clary set his career high with eight free throws made and tied his career high with nine trips to the line.
- RayQuawndis Mitchell collected three steals in the game, tying his career high in the category, a mark he last hit on Dec. 6, 2022. He added a season-best seven points.
- Leo O'Boyle connected on his first 3-point bucket as a Nittany Lion.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Mike Rhoades
Ace Baldwin Jr. & RayQuawndis Mitchell
HIGHLIGHTS
UP NEXT
- The Nittany Lions hit the road for the first time this season during Thanksgiving week when Penn State travels to Kissimmee, Fla. for the ESPN Events Invitational. The loaded eight-team tournament field features six squads that made NCAA Tournament appearances a season ago.
- Penn State opens the three-game tournament at noon on Thanksgiving Day when the Nittany Lions face #13 Texas A&M on ESPN.
The 2023-24 Penn State men's basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.