Lundy injury does not stop the blue and white: Penn State beats Canisius 97-67
After a slow start, Penn State was able to weather the storm and leave the Bryce Jordan Center with an impressive 97-67 win over Canisius.
The Nittany Lions led by six at the half, but the team opened the second half on a 22-2 run to help pull away and get the win.
Penn State’s 97 points were the fourth time this year that it recorded more than 90 points this season.
This was highlighted by Penn State’s efficient offense that recorded 22 assists while only turning the ball over three times.
The win was clouded by the injury of star forward Seth Lundy, who exited the game after he suffered a lower leg injury in the first half. Lundy recorded 10 points and grabbed six rebounds before the forward got injured.
Coach Micah Shrewsberry was told that Lundy was out for the remainder of the game during halftime but thought Lundy was in a good way after the injury.
“Seth came out with us for the second half,” Shrewsberry said. “He is in the locker room with the guys, but he was in good spirits.”
Shrewsberry added Lundy will continue to be evaluated during the week. The injury did not hurt the Nittany Lions' spirits, as they came out firing in the second half.
Penn State got off to a firing start in the second half.
Shrewsberry credited the run to the veteran leadership of the squad. Even with losing a captain in Lundy, the blue and white were able to turn to other veterans to help make a run.
“You’d never want to lose a guy like Seth, but you still got Myles (Dread) sitting there,” Shrewsberry said. “That’s an easy plug-and-play for us and those guys rotate in practice, so they are all playing with each other.”
Dread started the half for Penn State and helped lead that run. Another veteran that stepped up in Lundy’s absence was guard Andrew Funk, who exploded in the second half for 15 points.
Funk was coming off a 20-point performance against Illinois and kept it rolling with five-made threes in the second half. Shrewsberry explained how Funk has the ability to get hot at any moment.
“He’s just got that microwave mentality that he can get going at any point in time if you lose track of him,” Shrewsberry said. “That’s something you have to account for at all times, but it’s hard to account for him.”
Funk’s shooting ability is huge for the success of the Penn State team, and he will need to stay sharp for the Nittany Lions to win games this year. Along with the veteran leadership for this team is the energetic youth that Penn State has on its roster.
The Nittany Lions were able to play all five freshmen in the win over Canisius, which was huge for the development of their young players. Forward Kebba Njie got a lot of valuable minutes as well, after playing very little against Illinois.
Njie has been in and out of the lineup but has not allowed that to hurt his mindset for the team.
“It’s a lesson for me,” Njie said. “I just have to go out there and make the most out of the time that I am given.”
Njie recorded eight points and eight rebounds in the win, including three dunks early in the second half. Penn State has a lot of veterans, but the development of Njie, Clary, Brown, Mahaffey and Lilley will be huge for the success of the team come conference play.
Penn State handled their business and dominated a lesser opponent in Canisius, and will look to do the same when Quinnipiac travels to the Bryce Jordan Center.
Adam Sheetz is a junior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email ads360@psu.edu.
