It’s no secret that the Penn State Nittany Lion men’s basketball team has found a lot of success in its ability to shoot 3-pointers. The Lions are, after all, one of the top teams in the country shooting threes.
But if they’re not falling, as they were not against Quinnipiac on Dec. 22 at the Jordan Center, the Lions are usually in for a long night.
Fortunately, Penn State is an experienced team and they just reverted to Plan B against the Bobcats–play defense and take it inside.
Led by Jalen Pickett’s 21 points and 16 by Andrew Funk, the Lions built a 10-point halftime lead over Quinnipiac and then held on for a 77-68 win over the 9-4 Bobcats.
Penn State shot just 6-for-29 from outside the arc in the game, including 2-for-16 in the first half, but the Lions adjusted, went into the lane, and forced down 36 points in the paint.
Pickett was just 1-for-5 shooting threes, but he shot 9-for-23 overall, pulled down 12 rebounds, and handed out 9 assists.
Penn State led at halftime by 10 points, 33-23, and then two 3-pointers by Funk, a layup by Michael Henn and two foul shots by Funk gave the Lions their biggest lead of the game, 52-34, with just under 14 minutes to play.
Quinnipiac fought back to within 11 at the nine-minute mark, but a three by Pickett, another layup by Henn, and a foul try by Kebba Njie restored the PSU lead back to 15 points, 69-54 with six minutes to play.
Another run by the Bobcats as time ran out closed the gap to seven points with 20 seconds on the clock, but Funk finished the game with two foul shots and the Lions had their ninth win against three losses.
Quinnipiac hit a dozen 3-pointers in the game and outrebounded Penn State, 48-40, but the Lions’ overall balance and four players in double figures — Pickett, Funk, Camren Wynter and Henn — carried the day.
“I told our guys that check-out time was 7:30 (after the game) and you have to stay focused until this game is over,” Penn State head coach Micah Shrewsberry said. “I’m proud of our guys for getting the win today. We handled our business. We didn’t play great, but we took care of our business.
“I tell our guys we don’t live off our offense. Our defense is going to carry us. If we make shots or don’t make shots, our defense has to be good,” he said. “There are things we can correct. We have to hang our hat on being a good defensive team. Now when we do make shots and don’t turn the ball over, it makes us that much harder to beat.”
Penn State will next take on Delaware State on Thursday, Dec. 29 at home at 2 p.m. The Lions will then resume their Big Ten schedule in the new year with a home game against Iowa on Jan. 1 and then a game at Michigan three days later.
