New Year Fireworks: Penn State Defeats Iowa 83-79
Penn State tipped off the New Year in style as the Nittany Lions downed the Iowa Hawkeyes, 83-79. The Nittany Lions led at the half by 18 points, and were able to hold off an Iowa run to get the win.
The Nittany Lions were led by their star guard Jalen Pickett, who had a sensational 26 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Pickett has been amazing for the blue and white all season, and has been able to keep the competitive mentality for every game this season.
“I just play my game,” Pickett said. “Having coach Shrewsberry put me in great positions is huge too.”
Pickett was not alone during the game as Funk was able to add 20 points for the Nittany Lions on an efficient 58% from the field and 62.5% from behind the arc. Cam Wynter also came up huge to help get the win, scoring 14 points for the Nittany Lions.
Wynter’s buckets were crucial in the second half, and his ability to attack the mismatch with Iowa forward Filip Rebraca guarding him led to a lot of success for Penn State. Funk thought Wynter’s performance was huge for the team in the win.
“Cam was huge for us,” Funk said. “He was able to attack the switches and attack the mismatches when they came.”
Penn State was on fire early, but cooled off in the second half, allowing the Hawkeyes to rally and make it a close game down the stretch. Head coach Micah Shrewsberry thought the team lost focus early in the second half, which did not please the coaching staff, forcing them to call a timeout less than a minute into the half.
“I’m not too surprised because this is who we have been,” Shrewsberry said. “We have not responded in practice when things are going well and it has already bitten us this year."
The squad surrendered 53 points to the Hawkeyes, most coming from Hawkeyes forward Kris Murray, who lit up the Nittany Lions for 32 points and nine rebounds. Pickett explained how difficult it was to defend Murray.
“"He is very difficult to guard,” Pickett said. “Going up against different players in this league is always hard and he is definitely one of them."
The game would eventually come down to the final possession, where Iowa had a shot to tie or win the game in the final seconds. Penn State forward Seth Lundy came up with a huge steal, and made two clutch free throws to close out the win.
Shrewsberry wanted Penn State to defend the 3-point line during the game, and Lundy was able to do just that on the final play.
“In the second half they pushed the ball down the floor, and we would over-help and give up 3s,” Shrewsberry said. “On that play, we wanted to stay home, and [Lundy] did a great job of doing that.”
Even with a slow second half, Penn State was able to get its fifth-straight win and move to 11-3 on the year and 2-1 in conference play. Next up, the Nittany Lions travel to Ann Arbor to take on the Michigan Wolverines on Jan. 4.
Adam Sheetz is a junior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email ads360@psu.edu.
