UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's basketball team opened the Mike Rhoades era with a dominant 79-45 victory over Delaware State in the Nittany Lions' season opener Monday night inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
It was a wire-to-wire win for the Nittany Lions. Penn State earned the 34-point victory by way of a 49.1 percent field goal percentage and 12 made 3-pointers. The Penn State defense forced 23 Delaware State turnovers and held the Hornets to a 28.8 percent clip from the field.
Penn State was led by the sophomore duo of Kanye Clary (22 points) and Jameel Brown (20 points) who both posted career-best marks on opening night of the 2023-24 season. Brown drained six triples and Clary added seven boards in the duo's strong overall night. Qudus Wahab snagged 13 rebounds and added seven points in his first game as a Nittany Lion, while Zach Hicks rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Penn State won the opening tip and earned a 2-0 starting advantage on a Kanye Clary floater to begin the 2023-24 season. The Nittany Lions were able to use their opening score to extend a 14-4 run through nearly 10 minutes of play while holding Delaware State scoreless for a span of 6:46.
- A Delaware State jumper made it 14-6 but Penn State responded immediately with a 12-0 spurt, taking a 26-6 lead with 7:05 left to play in the opening half.
- The teams traded buckets for the next four minutes before back-to-back triples from Zach Hicks put the Nittany Lions up 37-14 at the 3:33 mark of the frame.
- The defenses held strong the rest of the half, with each team scoring just two points in the final three minutes. The Nittany Lions took a 39-18 lead into the locker room at the break. Jameel Brown led all scorers in the opening half with 11 points, including three triples.
- Penn State opened the second half on an 8-2 streak, highlighted by 3-pointers from Clary and Hicks, before extending its lead to 47-20 at the 17:28 mark of the second half.
- The Nittany Lions never gave way, pushing their lead all the way to 34 points with just over five minutes to play in the game. Penn State was able to carry its 34-point advantage through the final horn, taking down the Hornets by a final score of 79-45.
GAME NOTES
- Penn State earns its first win under Peter and Ann Tombros Endowed Head Coach Mike Rhoades.
- With its victory over Delaware State, the Nittany Lions earn their seventh-straight season-opening win, dating back to the 2017-18 season.
- With the 34-point win, the Nittany Lions posted their largest margin of victory in a game since it took down UMES 84-46 (38-point margin) on Nov. 5, 2019.
- The wire-to-win win was Penn State's first victory in which the Nittany Lions never trailed since defeating Illinois on Feb. 14.
- The Nittany Lions held Delaware State to 28.8 percent shooting from the field, the first time Penn State has limited an opponent to a shooting percentage below 30 percent since Dec. 4, 2019 against Wake Forest (29.3 percent).
- Penn State recorded 11 steals in the game, the first time it has recorded double-digit steals since Feb. 27, 2022 against Nebraska. Ace Baldwin Jr. led the team with four against Delaware State.
- Both Jameel Brown and Kanye Clary eclipsed the 20-point mark for the first time in their respective careers on Monday night. It marked the first time the Nittany Lions had a pair of teammates score 20-plus since Jalen Pickett (25) and Seth Lundy (22) did it against Michigan on Jan. 29.
- The Nittany Lions had three players score in double figures in the win. In addition to Clary (22) and Brown (20), Zach Hicks (12) posted a double-digit outing.
- Penn State's defense forced 21 Delaware State turnovers in the game.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Mike Rhoades
Sophomore guards Jameel Brown & Kanye Clary
HIGHLIGHTS
UP NEXT
- The Nittany Lions are back in action Friday night when Penn State welcomes Lehigh to the Bryce Jordan Center for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff on B1G+.
The 2023-24 Penn State men's basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.