Penn State Basketball cruises past Indiana 85-66
Penn State Basketball used some great shooting from outside and a historic night for forward Seth Lundy to run away with this one in the second half, winning 85-66 over Indiana.
Seth Lundy came out of the gates on fire for the Nittany Lions, getting 14 of Penn State’s first 19 points. He was a lifeline for Penn State all night. Every time the offense seemed to be slumping Lundy was there to knock down another huge three. Seth finished the game with 25 points and 7 three pointers. After a huge slam late in the second half he joined forward Myles Dread in logging his 1000th career point as a Nittany Lion. Seth emerged as a freshman starter in the 2019-2020 season and his shooting was a huge reason for that team’s success. He stuck with the program through two coaching changes and has remained one of the hardest working players on both ends for Penn State game in and game out. Congratulation to him for this fantastic achievement.
Penn State basketball hit 18 threes tonight tying the program record they set against Winthrop in the first game of the season. In that game the threes came from 7 different players, but tonight it was only 5. Seth Lundy and Andrew Funk hit 7 each combining for a ridiculous 14 threes. They were both on fire all night, routinely pulling up from a few steps behind the line including a logo make from Funk mid way through the second half. This game was an important one to get Funk back in rhythm. He shot a combined 2-13 against Michigan and Purdue. The prolific shooting was not due to a high amount of attempts either. The team as a whole shot an insane 58% from deep while Seth and Funk both hit that mark from downtown as well.
Penn State’s defense looked much improved tonight compared to last game against Purdue. Freshman Kebba Njie was tasked with guarding star senior Indiana big man Trayce Jackson-Davis and really held his own. He held Jackson-Davis to 14 points on 40% from the field. Both of these totals are significantly below his season totals. The rotations were on time all night, and Indiana just could not create the shots they wanted. Thanks to some great perimeter defense they were only able to get up 14 shots from deep and they only hit 4. Penn State was also able to win the turnover battle again, forcing 10 tonight.
Pickett and Wynter both played more of a traditional point guard role with Lundy and Funk handling most of the scoring. They combined for 14 assists and helped pace the offense all night long as while as attacking the interior to free up the shooters. Evan Mahaffey was once again a nice sparkplug off the bench. He scored a career high 12 points on a perfect 4-4 shooting from the field. Fouls remain a problem for the freshman forward, but his hustle and defensive ability are just too great to be left on the bench. Evan handled most of the ball handling responsibilities for his High School and he shows it when he is in. He often initiates the offense which allows Penn State to more easily disguise looks and keep the defense guessing on what is coming.
Penn State basketball will look to keep the hot shooting going when they travel to Madison, Wisconsin next Tuesday, January 17th. The game is at 8:30 PM EST and televised on Big Ten Network.