Penn State Men’s Basketball vs. St. Francis Brooklyn Game Grades

Story posted November 20, 2021 in CommRadio, Sports by Logan Bourandas

Following a tough loss on the road against UMass earlier in the week, Penn State was able to rebound during Thursday’s win over St. Francis Brooklyn.

The Nittany Lions controlled things for almost the entire game during the 74-59 win in front of the Bryce Jordan Center crowd.

Here’s a look at how each side of the ball performed during the win.

Offense: A-

While the offense may have been one-dimensional, the Nittany Lions were able to successfully bounce back from a tough performance against UMass where the team only scored 56 points.

Senior guard Sam Sessoms led the way in the win for the Nittany Lions as he finished with 26 points, which is his career high while wearing a Penn State uniform.

Sessoms was also efficient on the court during the win as he made 10 of his 13 shots, tearing up the Terriers in the paint.

Alongside Sessoms, only two other Nittany Lions scored in double-figures as John Harrar picked up 14 points to go along with his 13 rebounds.

Seth Lundy also just got over the mark with 11 points of his own.

While it wasn’t the biggest offensive display, the Nittany Lions were able to get the job done.

Defense: A

Most of the statistical categories went the way of the Nittany Lions, as they only allowed the Terriers to score 59 points on the night.

The Penn State defense only allowed the Terriers to make 25 of their 61 shots, with the teams top scorer in Patrick Emilien only finishing with 16 points.

Thanks in part to John Harrar’s ability to crash the glass, the Nittany Lions were easily able to out-rebound the Terriers 35-25 with fellow starter Jalanni White collecting seven rebounds of his own.

The Terriers also found themselves in foul trouble for most of the second half, racking up 20 fouls compared to the Nittany Lions 10.

It was a strong showing from a Penn State defense which continued to play well in front of the home crowd.

Coaching: A

Despite the temptation to give an A+ to rookie coach Micah Shrewsberry, his decisions didn’t lead to a perfect game despite the scoreboard.

Starting out with the positives, the decision to start White to play alongside Harrar in the front court paid dividends as both had great nights and played well together.

Following an early 4-2 Terriers lead, the Nittany Lions turned things around after Shrewsberry called a timeout just a minute and a half into the game and Penn State didn’t look back.

Even with the quick turnaround, one thing that Shrewsberry emphasized post game was his team recording 10 turnovers or less, which did not happen.

Turning the ball over 15 times may go unnoticed in a big win over St. Francis Brooklyn, but it can be a huge issue if that’s not fixed before Big Ten play.


Logan Bourandas is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email lxb5412@psu.edu.