PSU Hoops collapses late, turns it over 13 times in loss at Minnesota
Sam Sessoms had a costly travel with seconds left on the clock, EJ Stephens hit clutch free throws and Eric Curry enjoyed a career day as Minnesota snapped its five-game losing streak, topping Penn State 75-70 at home.
The Nittany Lions dropped to 9-12 and 4-9 in the conference, while Minnesota snapped the winless streak to improve to 12-10 and 3-10 in the Big Ten.
Penn State came out hot with an 8-4 on the back of three post scores from John Harrar. His early six points were an important start for someone who only scored 10 points in his last two outings total.
Minnesota grabbed its first lead of the night shortly after the under-16 mark, as Stephens made a 3-pointer and a midrange jumper during a quick 7-0 run.
After the lead changed hands four times in four minutes, Myles Dread hit from deep to cap off a 7-2 Penn State run before a Golden Gopher timeout.
Once again, Penn State’s lead was cut by a Minnesota 7-0 run. The lead changed hands three more times by the seven-minute mark, and this time it was a Seth Lundy 3-pointer that sent the Nittany Lions on a 7-0 run of their own.
Micah Shrewsberry’s squad controlled the tempo of the game for most of the rest of the first half, but Minnesota clawed its way back into a tie with 1:30 left on the clock. Each team scored just once more to keep it knotted at 36 at the break.
Penn State was shooting 60% from the floor compared to Minnesota’s 47.1%, but 8 turnovers — and four in the last five minutes — helped the Golden Gophers stay in it. Curry was lights out with his mid-range jumper, racking up a game-high 12 points.
Jalen Pickett started the second-half scoring, but Minnesota and Curry fired back for its first sizeable lead of the game, 48-42 at the under-16 mark with a Penn State timeout. Curry scored his 18th point of the night on his first 3-pointer of the year after shooting 0-for-9 to start the season.
Payton Willis followed Curry’s lead, scoring a 3-pointer and an and-1 on back-to-back possessions. Minnesota stretched the lead out to nine points at its widest margin.
Lundy hit two triples and Dallion Johnson added one of his own, but the Golden Gophers were holding onto a five-point lead with 10 minutes to go in the second half.
Penn State was still shooting a solid 50% at the time, but Minnesota was unconscious at 66.7% during the second-half run.
Curry made another jumper after a break, and Harrar picked up his fourth foul on the offensive end. Shrewsberry opted to go with a small lineup, as Lundy was the largest player on the floor for the next nine minutes.
The unconventional lineup worked, powered by a Sam-Sessoms takeover. The senior guard scored on three straight possessions unanswered by Minnesota to tie and then take the lead for the first time since the 18:51 mark at the start of the second half.
Both teams traded blows until Willis scored down low to give the Gophers a three-point lead, and Harrar turned it over on a travel on his first possession back in the game.
Pickett made just one of two free throws on the other end before the Nittany Lions had to intentionally foul down two points. Johnson hit four free throws in the final moments to help put the win on ice for Minnesota.
Penn State out-shot and out-rebounded Minnesota by relatively large margins, but 13 turnovers — three more in the final minute and a half of the game — for the Nittany Lions spelled disaster. The Gophers capitalized with 26 points off of the giveaways.
Curry’s career-high 22 points led the way for all scorers, even after he sat for large portions of the second half.
Willis might have been the player of the game, though, playing all 40 minutes of the night and nearly picking up a triple double. He scored 18 points, dished 10 assists and pulled down six rebounds. Two others found double figures for the Gophers.
Four players were in double figures for the Nittany Lions, and Sessoms’ strong second half helped him to a team-high 18. Lundy shot well from deep to add 16, while Pickett and Harrar picked up 12 and 10, respectively.
Penn State heads back home on Tuesday for a clash with No. 17 Michigan State at 6:30 p.m. The Spartans took the first game in the season series 80-64.
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