PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The Penn State men's basketball team rallied back from a 15-point second-half deficit to tie the game at 55 with two minutes to play, but came just one shot shy of stealing the road victory in its 59-58 loss on the road at Rutgers Sunday afternoon at Jersey Mike's Arena.
Penn State trailed by double-digits for the majority of the second half before a 17-4 run over a 6:32 span tied the game with two minutes to play. The Nittany Lions got a steal and had the ball on the final possession trailing by one ,but missed the mark on the final attempt to drop yet another close Big Ten road contest.
Junior Seth Lundy was instrumental for the Nittany Lions, finishing with a game-high 17 points, 11 of which came in the second half. Graduate student John Harrar added another double-double with 15 points and 17 rebounds, the second-highest rebounding total of his career. Senior Sam Sessoms was Penn State's third Nittany Lion in double digits with 13 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Lundy drained a 3-pointer to begin the afternoon for the Nittany Lions, but Rutgers rallied off the next nine-straight points to hold a 9-3 lead coming out of the first media timeout.
- The Scarlet Knights extended their lead to 18-7 with 8:45 to play before five-straight made free throws by Penn State on back-to-back possessions closed the gap back to five points.
- While the Nittany Lions had a cold shooting stretch in the first half, they managed to keep the score close thanks to their offensive rebounding and converting at the charity stripe. A big offensive rebound and put-back dunk by Harrar plus four made free throws by Sessoms made it 25-19 Rutgers with 3:47 remaining in the first half.
- Pickett hit his signature fadeaway jumper to close the gap to four points, but the Scarlet Knights finished the half with a pair of baskets to take a 29-21 lead into halftime.
- After a 7-0 RU run to start the half, the Nittany Lions finally found some success shooting from the floor with four layups as both teams traded baskets early in the half.
- Penn State continued to battle as a three from the corner by Myles Dread brought Penn State within 10 at 46-36 with 10:50 to play. Pickett followed up a triple of his own with a big block to spring fastbreak a layup for Lundy that made it an eight-point game, 51-43, with 7:55 to play.
- The Nittany Lions pieced together their late run with a 9-0 spurt started with a layup from Harrar with 5:24 remaining. Lundy drained a three and then tied the game at 55-all with a pull-up jumper in the lane with two minutes to play.
- Rutgers earned their next four points from the free-throw line before Sessoms drained a three-pointer to make it 59-58. The Nittany Lions forced a turnover after a Rutgers' timeout to get the ball back with a chance to win it, but Sessoms' contested shot missed the mark to give the Scarlet Knights the one-point win.
GAME NOTES
- In a matchup of two of the Big Ten's best defensive teams, the Nittany Lions held yet another conference opponent 10 points under their season-scoring average. Rutgers entered the afternoon averaging 68.0 points per game and become the 18th of the last 25 teams that Penn State has held 10 points or more under their season-scoring average.
- This is the 13th time in 20 Big Ten games that the Nittany Lions have had a game deciding by seven points or less.
- Penn State finished the game making five of its last eight three pointers after starting the game cold with a 1-16 mark from behind the arc.
- Lundy led Penn State in scoring for the eighth time this season and notched his 19th double-digit effort of the year.
- Harrar's 15-point, 17-rebound double-double was his 11th of the season and the 17th of his career, now the eighth-most in program history.
- Harrar's 17 rebounds were his most in a game since snagging a career-high 20 rebounds against Northwestern back on Feb. 25.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Micah Shrewsberry
UP NEXT
- Penn State turns its attention to next week's Big Ten Tournament at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
- A full bracket with seeds, matchups and game times will be released upon the conclusion of Sunday's regular-season finales across the conference.