Penn State Hoops drops an ugly one to Nebraska on Sunday
Penn State was looking for a clean sweep on Sunday, hoping to finish a home-and-home against Nebraska in winning fashion.
Unlike the previous meeting of the two teams on Jan. 21, ending in a 76-65 Nittany Lions victory, the Cornhuskers came out quickly in the first half and weathered the PSU storm in the second half, defending home court with a 72-63 victory.
This game was far from a blowout or what the final score indicated because Penn State (14-9, 5-7 Big Ten) cut an eight-point halftime deficit to as little as three points with 5:52 remaining and four points with just 3:21 remaining in regulation.
However, it was a poor shooting night that sunk the Nittany Lions in the end as Nebraska (11-13, 4-9 Big Ten) shot 52.9 percent from the field and 40 percent (8-of-20) from beyond the arc.
While Penn State made six more three-pointers in the game, shooting 36.8 percent from the perimeter (14-of-36), the Nittany Lions managed just four free throws the entire game, going 1-of-4 from the line.
Not only did the Cornhuskers dominate in the paint, out-scoring PSU, 32-16, in points in the paint, the aggression from Nebraska resulted in 14 more free throws and nine more made free throws, the same difference at the final buzzer as the game score.
Nebraska might have only shot 10-of-18 (55.8 percent) from the line, but those made free throws proved to quite literally be the difference at the end of the day.
Three Penn State players finished in double-figures in scoring, led by Seth Lundy’s 24 points and seven rebounds. Jalen Pickett and Andrew Funk also finished in double-figures with 15 and 14 points, respectively, Pickett adding seven assists and seven rebounds on the day.
For Nebraska, it was the Keisei Tominaga show as he put up a 30-point performance for the Cornhuskers, shooting 12-of-18 from the field and 5-of-10 from beyond the arc.
Jamarques Lawrence also had a successful day on the floor, nearly putting up a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds.
Penn State, unable to get off to a fast start, will need to in its next game as Wisconsin comes to the Bryce Jordan Center at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
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