Penn State Basketball wins defensive battle 60-46 over Delaware St

Penn State Basketball threatened to fully pull away at many points in this game, but they just could not capitalize on open looks leading to the 60-46 final score.

In a game that resembled the Penn State basketball team we saw last year, the Nittany Lions won on the back of their strong defense.

Penn State only shot 37% from the field and a season worst 25% from deep. It truly just came down to not hitting shots. The offense consistently got open shots without having to do much work. They generated offense early and often getting a number of open threes and good driving lines. The ball just did not bounce their way today as the open corner looks that players like Lundy and Dread have been hitting all year did not fall. It was also a quiet game for star guard Jalen Pickett. He only scored 10 and did not look for his own shot much. They stuck to their game plan the entire time despite the struggles and in the end, it was enough to pull out this win.

For the Hornets senior guard O’Koye Parker was hot off the bench going 3-3 from three-point range. The hot shooting from Delaware State as a team, 38% from deep, helped keep them within striking distance for most of the game. However, Penn State’s defense locked up everything within the arc. The Hornets shot 30% from the field and just could not get any good shots at the rim or even the driving lanes to get there. PSU also dialed up the pressure on the Delaware State ball handlers, causing 16 turnovers in the game and generating good offense off that when the half court sets were not working.

For the Nittany Lions Andrew Funk had another solid shooting game. He finished with 12 points and 4 threes on 10 attempts. Seth Lundy led the team in scoring with 15 and he also added 10 rebounds for the double-double. Coach Shrewsberry said he was not sure if Seth was going to be good to go for this game or Sunday’s matchup against Iowa after spraining his ankle against Canisius, so it was good to see him out there today. His jumpers were not falling like they normally do, but he looked good and healthy running the floor. Freshman Evan Mahaffey only played 5 minutes at the end of the game, but he was the energetic boost the team needed to close out the game with his hustle and rim running.

This win is the 4th in a row for the Nittany Lions as they look forward to the real start of conference play. Penn State is heading into this new section of the schedule with a 10-3 record including a 1-1 start against the Big Ten so far. The PSU squad already has a couple quality wins over Butler and Illinois, and they will look to add to that against a Big Ten were every team is .500 or better heading into conference matchups.

Penn State basketball has their first chance to add another quality win when they take on Iowa this Sunday January 1st, at 5:30 PM est. The game is at the Bryce Jordan Center and on the Big Ten Network.