Penn State men’s basketball pushed past Lehigh 74-65 on Friday night at the Bryce Jordan Center to improve to 2-0 under new head coach Mike Rhoades. Not all wins are pretty but all wins are important for a Penn State team still finding itself amongst a ton of offseason change. In turn, here are five takeaways following the Nittany Lions’ second win of the year.
Adversity Test No. 1: It’s safe to say Lehigh probably won’t present Penn State with its biggest challenge of the year, but the Nittany Lions managed to pass their first test when the situation got a bit more difficult than an opening night blowout. Lehigh technically never held a meaningful lead but a 38-38 halftime score was more than enough to remind Penn State that each and every game is a chance to win and also an opportunity to lose. The Nittany Lions came out of the half with a much sharper attack, winning the final 20 minutes of regulation 36-27. Rhoades will happily take Penn State winning every game by big margins, but holding off a feisty opponent is a good skill to have too.
Ye Power: Kanye Clary wasn’t a key piece of the puzzle during Penn State’s 2022-23 campaign, but for two straight games he has shown why Micah Shrewberry liked his game on the recruiting trail. Clary poured in a team-high 20 points on Friday, going 8-for-14 from the field. He did turn the ball over seven times to account for nearly half of Penn State’s turnovers but the Nittany Lions are happy to see one of its few returning members of last year’s team playing with such confidence and efficiency. Add three steals to his name to help out the numbers on both ends of the floor.
Board Strength: Qudus Wahab pulled down a whopping 18 rebounds on Friday night as Penn State saw the veteran big man impose his will on the glass. Lehigh actually won the rebounding battle by two, 40-38, but Wahab continues to be a force on the interior when it comes to rebounding. Penn State scored 30 points in the paint on Friday evening as well but will want to work on the 11 offensive rebounds it gave up. Sometimes you don’t get a friendly bounce, but if Wahab can continue to pull down 10+ boards a game, Penn State will be a very happy team.
I’ll Help: Penn State had four different players at double-digits or within a basket of double-digits as the Nittany Lions continue to find their offensive identity. Clary led the way with his 20 while Ace Baldwin chipped in 16 of his own. D’Marco Dunn poured in nine points while Jameel Brown followed up his career high with an eight point effort that saw him continue his strong shooting from range with a 2-for-2 night. Overall Penn State managed 26 points off the bench, a number it will happily take each and every night for as long as it is able to produce at that level.
Aced It: Ace Baldwin had a perfectly fine Penn State debut just a few nights earlier, but his 16 points on Friday night behind a 6-for-14 shooting effort was a welcome sight for a player who will need to score in order for the Nittany Lions to have success. Baldwin did so many things well in Penn State’s opener that you can’t complain about the effort but the Nittany Lions are glad to see him scoring and scoring efficiently. Three steals on the night added to Penn State’s 11 total on the evening.
