Penn State hosted Miami at the Bryce Jordan Center on Wednesday night for its installment of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, and a rocky start turned into a thrilling finish in Happy Valley.
The Nittany Lion offense got off to one of its best starts of the season, putting up points quickly in the first portion of the first half. Miami kept pace, though, behind a lights-out shooting performance from big man Sam Waardenburg, who went 3-for-3 from deep in the early going.
Season-long problems reared their head back up for the Nittany Lions, as 10 first-half turnovers allowed the Hurricanes to grab the lead.
Scoring slowed for both teams at the end of the first half, as both went nearly three minutes without a bucket. Miami held the lead and padded it a bit to go into the break up 29-23.
Penn State came scorching out of halftime.
Seth Lundy and John Harrar fueled a 15-2 run early in the second half to take its first lead since the 6:42 mark in the first half.
However, Miami ripped it right back with an 11-3 run of its own, fueled by a pair of ugly Penn State turnovers.
Penn State wouldn’t go away down the stretch, but a big second-chance 3-pointer from Kameron McGusty put Miami up five in the waning moments. The Nittany Lions couldn’t convert, and the Hurricanes walked away with a 63-58 victory.
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Battle of the big men
Harrar and Waardenburg went at it all night, but Waardenburg and the Hurricanes got the better of the other.
The Penn State big man had one of his best offensive performances of the season, racking up a game-high 16 points. He also continued to do what he does best, pulling down 12 rebounds to complete his double-double.
Waardenburg’s hot shooting led to his team-high 14 points. He was bested on the boards by Harrar, though, coming up with just four rebounds on the night.
Harrar’s big night was highlighted by 6-for-6 shooting from the floor.
Lundy backed Harrar well, scoring 14 points on 6-for-14 shooting. He struggled from deep, though, with just 2-for-9 shooting on 3-pointers.
Turnovers still a problem
The first half was low scoring from both sides due to some very sloppy basketball being played.
Penn State’s 10 first-half turnovers fueled the lead for the Hurricanes, but it didn’t seem like Miami particularly wanted to pull away from the Nittany Lions.
The Hurricanes dealt with foul trouble in the first half, putting Penn State in the bonus with a lot of time still on the clock.
The turnovers slowed down for Penn State during its second-half run, but Miami was able to retake the lead because the Nittany Lions once again were loose with the basketball.
They ended with 14 turnovers on the night, and Miami turned it into eight points off of turnovers.
Giving up the ball has plagued Penn State in just about every game this season. If it weren’t for Miami’s poor shooting in the first half, the Nittany Lions could have been run out of the gym.
Penn State dominant inside
Another strong effort on the glass helped keep the Nittany Lions in it against Miami despite falling in the contest.
The blue and white cleaned up, out-rebounding the Hurricanes 38-27 on the night, including winning the offensive-rebounding battle nine to five.
Harrar led the way with his impressive performance, but Lundy and Pickett added eight rebounds each.
Penn State also dominated the points in the paint battle 32-20, but Miami’s outside shooting proved to be just enough of a difference maker.
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