UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's basketball team rode a fast start and a strong finish to a 72-55 win over Le Moyne Thursday night inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
The Nittany Lions made nine 3-pointers in the opening half to get out to an early lead and then spent the final 5:12 of the game on a 12-4 run to pull away for the 17-point win.
Sophomore Kanye Clary led the Nittany Lions with 20 points, six assists and five rebounds, marking his sixth 20-point game through 12 contests this season. Graduate student Qudus Wahab finished with 11 points and nine rebounds. D'Marco Dunn chipped in 10 points, Ace Baldwin Jr. had nine points, six assists and four steals, and Puff Johnson contributed eight points and eight rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Nittany Lions held an early 12-9 lead at the 15:34 mark before drilling three triples to help comprise a 14-2 run that put Penn State up 26-11 less than 10 minutes into the game.
- The Nittany Lion lead reached as much as 21 in the opening half following back-to-back 3-pointers from RayQuawndis Mitchell at the 6:27 mark.
- The Dolphins responded with a 14-5 streak to close the opening half as the Nittany Lions went just one for their final eight shots, but Penn State still carried a 40-28 lead into halftime.
- The teams traded buckets through the first five minutes of the second half until the Penn State defense fueled an 8-3 stretch in which the Nittany Lions held the Dolphins scoreless for 3:33 to pull ahead 55-38 with 11:02 to play.
- Le Moyne went 3-for-3 from deep over the next 3:24 to trim the Nittany Lion lead to 10 at 59-49 with 7:38 left on the clock. The Dolphins would pull as close as nine at 6:09, but Penn State pulled away from there.
- The Nittany Lions spent the final 5:12 of the game on a 12-4 run with the help of four points from Clary and four from Nick Kern Jr. as the Nittany Lions accelerated for the 72-55 win.
GAME NOTES
- Penn State improves to 6-1 at home in the Bryce Jordan Center this season.
- Penn State connected on nine 3-pointers in the first half. The Nittany Lions finished the game with 11 threes, with four Penn State players connecting on multiple triples.
- The Nittany Lions collected a season-high 43 rebounds. Penn State commanded the boards, out-rebounding Le Moyne 43-31.
- Sophomore Kanye Clary set his career high with four 3-pointers made in the game. Clary finished with 20 points, his sixth outing with 20+ points this season.
- Senior Puff Johnson set his career high with eight rebounds in the game. Johnson's previous best mark was seven which he hit on Feb. 19 against NC State during his time at North Carolina.
- Senior Ace Baldwin Jr. totaled four second-half steals, tying his season-best mark in just one half of play. Baldwin Jr. added nine points and six assists to his line, and now sits just four points away from hitting the 1,000-point plateau.
- Junior Nick Kern Jr. tied his season-high with eight rebounds.
- Junior D'Marco Dunn posted his fourth double-figure scoring effort of the season, collecting 10 points against the Dolphins.
- Graduate student RayQuawndis Mitchell connected on his first 3-pointers in a Penn State uniform, finishing with two in the game. Mitchell tied his season high with seven points in the game.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Mike Rhoades
Kanye Clary and Qudus Wahab
HIGHLIGHTS
UP NEXT
- Following a brief break for the holidays, the Nittany Lions remain home to host Rider in Penn State's non-conference finale at 2 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 29, inside the Bryce Jordan Center. Kids under 12 will get in for free through this online only offer.
The 2023-24 Penn State men's basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.