Schematically, it is not terribly difficult to know what to do in a basketball game. The challenge is actually doing it and doing it over and over again.
But on Thursday night Penn State managed to do what it wanted to do, and do it with regularity en route to a 74-59 victory over Saint Francis Brooklyn.
The key – getting to the rim.
Penn State did so with great success on Thursday scoring 40 points in the paint, getting 26 points from guard Sam Sessoms who made eight layups on his way to a wildly efficient 10-for-13 shooting night from the floor as the Nittany Lions at-large managed to make over 53% of their attempts.
“They were too aggressive in the passing lanes,” Sessoms said.
“We knew during the scout that they were gonna pressure us,” big man John Harrar said after the game. “We can clean up those turnovers at the end of the game […] but you see when we when we execute and know that they’re gonna give us us a layup. So I think that’s where the efficiency comes from.”
The Nittany Lions would start cold on a chilly and rainy night in State College but solid rebounding on the defensive end and a tenacious attack by Sessoms allowed Penn State to eventually claw out to a 40-27 halftime lead with relative ease. The Philadelphia guard would account for 16 of Penn State’s final 22 points in the first half, accentuating the fact if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
“It’s really important that our spacing in terms of the other guys where they are on the floor, allows him to get to the basket,” Shrewsberry said. “I think that’s been a point of emphasis of our team early on. We knew how [Saint Francis] plays defensively they really try and get in the passing lanes. They overplay a lot. So those driving lanes were open. But our other guys being in the right spot, not clogging the lane or taking up his space to drive. I think that’s important so we can continue to do that.”
In Shrewsberry’s eyes Sessoms’ ability to get to the rim is important, but what will make him an even better player is finding the open man when his shot isn’t there. The Nittany Lions only registered 11 assists on Thursday night, a modest number on an efficient night of shooting, but Sessoms accounted for just one of them.
Of course in Sessoms’ defense he was open and efficient at the basket, so no need to pass if you can score. However the question for Shrewsberry come Big Ten play will be what Sessoms does with the ball when the lane isn’t quite as wide open.
“I think him getting into the lane, and then making the right decisions from there. I think that’s a huge step right there is I go to score. I can’t score there. Find the next guy. Find the open guy now,” Shrewsberry said. “People are behind plays, they’re closing out, they’re scrambling. Now we can attack more. So I think it’s going to be important for us in terms of how we play and him making the next step as a playmaker as well.”
By the end of the night it was a workman like performance for many of the Nittany Lions, as Harrar racked up 13 rebounds and 14 points while Seth Lundy added 11 points and six rebounds of his own. Transfer forward Jalanni White pulled down four offensive boards as well in the start as well.
“Jalanni is out there steal my offensive rebounds,” Harrar said with a laugh, the Nittany Lions now 2-1 on the year.
