Penn State Men’s Basketball Unable to Stop Nebraska Barrage in Home Finale
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Nebraska took down Penn State 93-70 behind a barrage of 3-pointers on Sunday night. The Cornhuskers knocked down 13 3-pointers and shot 65% from beyond. Penn State only mustered up 9 triples on 35% shooting.
Both teams started hot from the field with Penn State making all five of their first five shots, and Nebraska starting 3-5. Nebraska was the team that was able to keep the fire burning, though. They used an 18-2 run in the first half to bolster a huge lead.
The Cornhuskers finished the first half shooting 61% from the field and took a 49-31 lead into the half. They had three players in double figures in the first 20 minutes alone. At the halftime break, Nebraska had already hit seven 3-pointers.
Senior Myles Dread was asked about how the pace of the game favored Nebraska.
“Playing at anybody else’s tempo is kind of hard to do when you are not used to it,” Dread said.
Penn State scored the first bucket of the second half, but after that Nebraska picked up right where they left off. They started the second half on a 21-12 run and never looked back.
The Cornhuskers finished with all five starters in double figures. Most notably Bryce McGowens tallied 25 points with three triples on five attempts. He also tallied six rebounds. Derrick Walker played some of his best basketball of the season putting up 10 points and seven rebounds.
John Harrar was battling with Walker all game long, and the senior finished with a very John Harrar stat line in his final game in the Bryce Jordan Center. He posted nine points and eight rebounds on 80% shooting.
Jalen Pickett, Seth Lundy and Sam Sessoms all finished with 12 points apiece. Penn State finished 47% from the field, and Dread was asked about the team’s shooting struggles after the game.
“The ball just was not going in,” Dread said. “We were getting good shots. We were getting the shots that we want, we put a lot of work into getting shots up, sometimes the basketball just doesn’t go in.”
The Nittany Lions were dominated on the glass, losing the rebounding battle 34-22. The Cornhuskers grabbed 10 offensive boards compared to Penn State’s six.
Dread was asked after the game what he thought there was to point to for the loss.
“Nebraska played harder than we did,” Dread said. “That’s all I have to say.”
Trevor Grady is a fourth-year majoring in supply chain. To contact him, email tmg5685@psu.edu.
