Penn State men’s lacrosse earned some All-Big Ten honors Tuesday afternoon in advance of the inaugural Big Ten tournament. TJ Sanders and Mike Sutton were both named All-Big Ten honorable mentions while Kyle Zittel received the team’s Sportsmanship Award.

Sanders is pacing the Nittany Lions with an impressive 27 goals and 12 assists totaling 39 points. His 2.08 goals per outing are fifth in the conference, and is in the top 10 in both assists and points per game. A junior, Sanders has scored a point in every game, and racked up eight games in which he’s scored more than once.

With a year less experience, Sutton has recorded a point in 17 straight games, and his 24 goals and 28 points are both second on the team. He has two hat tricks on the year to accompany six multi-goal games.

Zittel, meanwhile, is the Nittany Lions’ first solo captain in over 40 years. The defensive midfielder has appeared in all but two contests, but is most impressive in the classroom. A science major with a 3.49 GPA, he plans to go to medical school after graduating.

Penn State begins the first Big Ten tournament on Thursday against No. 1-seeded John Hopkins. It will air on the Big Ten Network at 5:30 p.m.

Photo: Mark Selders/GoPSUSports