Penn State men’s basketball overcame a slow start on Friday morning but couldn’t quite complete a 16-point comeback, falling 61-59 to Virginia Tech in the second round of the Charleston Classic.
The Nittany Lions started off cold early, quickly falling behind 22-6 as Virginia Tech went on a 7-for-10 shooting stretch around the midway point of the first half. A three pointer by Myles Dread would spark a 10-5 run by the Nittany Lions to get Penn State back to a respectable 27-19 deficit with 5:29 to go in the first half. Transfer guard Andrew Funk’s 13 first half points led the way for Penn State as the Nittany Lions managed to hang on to trail just by eight at the break 37-29. The Hokies managed 24 points in the paint in the first half as the Nittany Lions continue to struggle with their interior defense.
All the same Funk and his teammates clawed back into throughout the second half, slowly eroding Virginia Tech’s lead until Penn State found itself trailing by just six points with 13:36 to go in regulation. Virginia Tech would respond with a brief run of its own to go ahead by nine but a timely three by Funk would eventually cut that lead to just three points. Myles Dread would do the same minutes later, this time to cut Penn State’s deficit to just two points with 6:26 to go.
Penn State would only make four baskets in the final six minutes of regulation but would stay within reach the entire way, a clutch three by Funk with 41 seconds would cut the deficit to just two points. A defensive stop by Penn State would give the Nittany Lions a chance to tie or take the lead, but a drive by Camren Wynter with four seconds to go would result in a turnover and the Hokies hung on for the victory.
All told Friday’s loss showcased both Penn State’s strengths of shotmaking and weaknesses on the interior as the Nittany Lions made 11 shots from beyond the arc but gave up 40 points in the paint. Rebounding was even between the two teams but the Nittany Lions have yet to find an answer to their interior needs. True freshman Evan Mahaffey saw his first meaningful action and provided a steady hand with five rebounds, four points and just one foul through 16 minutes of action. Guard Jalen Pickett had timely makes in his own right but Penn State’s offensive driver managed just nine points on 4-of-10 shooting but did assist on eight other baskets.
Myles Dread continued his resurgent play coming off of injury to make five of his 11 attempts from deep. Funk led the way with 21 points to round out Penn State’s most noteworthy boxscore items. Seth Lundy attempted just five shots over 34 minutes of play, making two. The Nittany Lions will take the court on Sunday for the final game of the event against a to be determined opponent. Penn State appears poised to be a team that will win as many games as it can outshoot its weaknesses, in this case lacking interior size and the old adage that teams will live and die by the three.
