Penn State Basketball rolls past Colorado State to take third place in Charleston Classic

Penn State Basketball will return home after a 2-1 showing in the Shiner’s Children’s Charleston Classic

Penn State Basketball defeated Colorado State 68-56 on Sunday night to take third place in the Shiner’s Children’s Charleston Classic.

While the offense has been the Nittany Lions’ calling card this season, it was a strong defensive performance that helped Penn State get the win. Colorado State did not score until the 12:35 mark of the first half.

By then, Penn State had a 13-point lead and the Nittany Lions never looked back. Colorado State did narrow the lead to nine points halfway through the second half, but the Nittany Lions promptly went on an 8-0 run to extend the lead back to double digits.

One change to the Penn State starting lineup that seemed to spark the Nittany Lions was that true freshman Kebba Njie got the start at center. Njie finished the game with eight points and three rebounds, but his presence was felt.

Sunday was another big day for Penn State guard Jalen Pickett as he finished with a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds. Pickett’s play this weekend earned him a spot on the All-Tournament team.

One of the differences in this game was the fact that Penn State Basketball went 9-28 (32%) from 3-point range, whereas Colorado State went 6-30(20%). The Rams did out rebound the Nittany Lions 38-31, but the Penn State defense made up for it, getting key stop after key stop.

Seth Lundy also had another nice game, recording a team-high 17 points with eight rebounds. Lundy was efficient from long range, going 3-5 on 3-pointers.

Even though Colorado State was missing its best player, guard Isaiah Stevens, this was a big win for Penn State Basketball, considering the Rams were a six seed in the NCAA Tournament last March.

The 5-1 Nittany Lions will get a break for Thanksgiving before taking on Lafayette at home on Friday.