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Penn State Men’s Basketball: Turnovers Doom Nittany Lions in Late 76-70 Loss at Minnesota

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Photo by Erin Sullivan | Onward State

Ben Jones

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Penn State fell 76-70 to Minnesota on Saturday night in Minneapolis as the Nittany Lions struggled to overcome 13 turnovers that led to 26 Gopher points.

The loss was Penn State’s third straight and dropped the Nittany Lions to 9-12 on the season, 4-9 in the Big Ten, while Minnesota snapped a five-game losing streak.

Result aside, the Nittany Lions managed a fairly solid offensive game – especially on the road in the Big Ten – shooting just over 54% from the field. The early offense helped the Nittany Lions to hang with the Gophers and eventually lead by as many as seven in the first half as the teams headed to the locker room tied at 36-36 after the opening 20 minutes of play.

Despite shooting 13% better from the field in the first half than the hosts, Penn State struggled to hold on to its lead due to eight turnovers that would eventually lead to 19 first half points by the Gophers. The Nittany Lions were also +8 on the glass behind a five rebound first half by John Harrar. All the same the game was tied despite Penn State generally being the better team.

The second half was largely more of the same, although Penn State minimized its turnover issues for most of the final 20 minutes of play. Even so, Minnesota worked its way out to a nine point lead with just over 13 minutes to go in regulation.

Penn State would push back, eventually taking a two point lead with 3:45 to go in the game. The Nittany Lions would score just three points the rest of the night while Minnesota would go on a 11-3 run in the final minutes to turn a late deficit into a six-point victory. Penn State’s final few possessions would feature three back-breaking turnovers giving an otherwise struggling Minnesota offense more possessions in the crucial stages of the game.

While free throws were generally not the main thrust of the game, Penn State coach Micah Shrewsberry lamented afterwards that the Nittany Lions continue to struggle to get to the free throw line, perhaps by a lacking respect by referees. Penn State shot just seven free throw attempts all game, effectively half of Minnesota’s attempts and the second-straight contest in which the Nittany Lions shot only seven free throw attempts in spite of a fairly aggressive drive-and-finish style of play.

In the box score Sam Sessoms returned to form going 8-of-15 from the field for 18 points, although he was credited with two missed layups and a turnover late in the game. Seth Lundy also bounced back with a 16 point effort while John Harrar and Jalen Pickett chipped in 12 and 10 points respectively. Penn State’s defense also had a fairly respectable outing, holding Minnesota to just three made baskets from the field in the final 9:32 of regulation.

Penn State would make seven baskets over that same span, and yet found itself on the losing end.

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