Penn State bounces back versus St. Francis on Thursday night
St. Francis Brooklyn gave a bit of a scare to open the game, taking an early 6-2 lead over Penn State at the Bryce Jordan Center.
The Nittany Lions, much to Micah Shrewsberry’s dismay, turned the ball over three times in the first four minutes to give the Terriers four easy points.
The run didn’t last long for St. Francis, though, as Penn State keyed a 9-0 run over the next four minutes to take the lead for good.
Senior guard Sam Sessoms took over at the end of the half, picking up 16 points and scoring nine of Penn State’s 11 buckets to close after the nine-minute mark.
Sessoms, John Harrar and Jalanni White each picked up and-1s out of the break for Penn State, stretching its lead early in the second half.
Some full-court press looked to rattle the Nittany Lions a bit nearing the end of the second half, but it wasn’t enough to cut into the deficit a whole lot.
Penn State walked away with its second win of the season 74-59 over St. Francis Brooklyn, fueled by Sessoms and a double-double from Harrar.
SESSOMS EXPLODES
He had an early turnover, but Sessoms made the most of his minutes in his second appearance in front of Penn State fans this season.
The guard attacked the rim at will for his 16 first-half points, and no St. Francis defender could keep up with his speed and craftiness off the dribble.
He ended up with a career-high 26 points in this one on 10-for-13 shooting. Sessoms added one assist and one steal despite two turnovers.
The senior has been integral to the Penn State offense through three games this season both scoring and being the frontman for the Nittany Lions.
Sessoms and Shrewsberry both said his ability to drive and score at the rim was a product of the scouting report, as St. Francis was planning to clog passing lanes and even overplay at times, leaving open lanes to the hoop.
“Our coaching staff did a good job giving us the [scouting report],” Sessoms said. “We knew they were an aggressive team on defense trying to deny the passing lanes. They can’t be good at everything, so if they deny the passing lanes, we knew the driving lanes would be there. If I could just beat my man, I knew I’d have a lot of open layups.”
TURNOVERS GALORE
The blue and white came out on top handedly, but the offensive performance wasn’t always pretty.
Penn State turned the ball over 15 times as a team, and if it weren’t for a 41% shooting night for St. Francis and 10 turnovers of its own, this one could’ve gotten away from the Nittany Lions.
Seth Lundy got into double figures for the third straight game, but he had his worst night of the young season, turning it over six times himself. White had a few lazy passes of his own among others for the blue and white.
Shrewsberry showed some visible frustration with the sloppy play, emphatically substituting players in and even slamming a basketball that came to him off of an errant pass.
“We didn't value the basketball. Our goal is 10 turnovers or less,” Shrewsberry said. “We worked against the press for two-straight days and we still weren't great at it.”
PSU PLAYS INSIDE OUT
They didn’t need it, but the Nittany Lions didn't have much success shooting the three Thursday night.
Penn State shot just 4-for-13 from deep despite averaging 10 threes per game through its first two contests.
Lundy led the way with two 3-pointers, and Myles Dread and Jaheam Cornwall added one each.
The points in the paint were key for Penn State, however, with 40 points on the night. The Nittany Lions’ two leading scorers, Sessoms and Harrar, did all of their damage in the paint.
Penn State was highly efficient from the floor, shooting 53%. Harrar, who had 14 points, said that was another product of a good scouting report.
“We can clean up those turnovers at the end… but when we execute and know that they’re gonna pressure us, they’re giving us a layup,” Harrar said. “I think that’s where that efficiency comes from.”
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