Penn State Basketball: Banks Leads Nittany Lions Past Colgate 72-59

How It Happened:

Penn State overcame a sluggish first half and got 35 points from three veterans as the Nittany Lions eventually took care of Colgate 72-59 on Wednesday night. Penn State shot 10-of-36 from the field in the first half while Colgate turned the ball over 12 times to open the door for an eventual late first half run to put the Nittany Lions up 30-23 at the break

Colgate responded with a run of its own early in the second half to close the gap to just three with 15:23 to go in the game. A quick run 8-0 run pushed Penn State back ahead by 11 and the Nittany Lions never looked back. A 16-9 run did the rest and a few late free throws sealed the deal.

Penn State was led by Peyton Banks’ 20 points while Will Rayman managed 28 points for Colgate. Josh Reaves made his season debut for Penn State after missing the opening five games with a knee injury.

It Was Over When:

Penn State went on a 16-9 over a six minute span midway through the second half to turn a 50-46 lead into a 66-55 lead with 1:38 to go in the game. Colgate never got it back to single digits but never really threatened in the final minute as Penn State pushed ahead towards the game’s final score.

Stat Of The Game:

The Nittany Lions managed 14 assists on 22 made baskets with a manageable nine turnovers compared to Colgate’s 17.

Player Of The Game:

Payton Banks went 6-of-12 from the field for 20 points making four shots from downtown to lead the Nittany Lions. Banks paced Penn State while Tony Carr, Shep Garner and Terrence Samuel followed up with 14, 10 and 16 points respectively. Mike Watkins grabbed seven rebounds and Josh Reaves had a steal, an assist, four rebounds and five points in his season debut back from injury.

Up Next: 

The Nittany Lions head on the road to George Washington for a 4:00 PM tip on Saturday.