Seth Lundy’s Career Night Powers Nittany Lions to 66-61 Win over Maryland
It’s been a rough season for Seth Lundy.
The sophomore started out the year on fire with three straight double-digit scoring nights, including a career high 32 points against VCU. That game showed signs that Lundy could be the guy to replace Lamar Stevens as the Nittany Lions’ go-to scorer.
From there, it’s been disappointment—first a zero-point game in the team’s upset road win over Virginia Tech, then more of the same as conference play started.
There was a brief moment when Lundy seemed to turn things around, as he put up 26 points in a loss against Ohio State in late January. But Lundy would only put up double-digit points one more time after that game against the Buckeyes, until this game.
With the Nittany Lions off to a slow start on the road against Maryland in their season finale, Lundy’s number would be called off the bench. Lundy started his night by scoring the team’s first 11 points, bringing some fight to a roster that desperately needed it. The Nittany Lions have always had different leading scorers, and Sunday night just so happened to be Lundy’s night.
“We started off slow, and the team looked to me,” Lundy said. “That’s a great part about our team—we have a lot of guys who can score the ball, and tonight they looked to me.”
Lundy had only scored two points the last time he faced this Maryland team, but he found himself in the go-to role once again. Everything that went wrong in the past went right in this one as the sophomore went 11 of 18 from the field and made five from deep.
Even in the second half, Lundy kept his performance up as the rest of the Nittany Lions woke up too, and, all of a sudden, the team had come back from a 16-point deficit to win. Lundy scored 31 points in the win which, good enough for the second 30-point outing of his career. He would finish one point shy of tying his career high.
Someone who seemed to have seen this scoring outburst coming was Penn State head coach Jim Ferry, despite the fact the Lundy scored just five against Minnesota in the Nittany Lions’ prior win.
“I thought it started [against Minnesota] when he played so hard and defended and rebounded,” Ferry said. “Hopefully that’s it, and he clicks as we head into the Big Ten Tournament.”
The Big Ten tournament will be the next stop for Lundy and the Nittany Lions. Although his career night doesn’t change where Penn State lines up seeding-wise, it should give his team momentum for its first-round matchup against Nebraska on Wednesday.
Logan Bourandas is a sophomore majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email lxb5412@psu.edu.
