Penn State men’s basketball (2-1) barely lost a tight contest against the Seton Hall Pirates (2-3) 98-92 in overtime Sunday night. Seth Lundy led the way with 23 points, while Myreon Jones added 17 points as well.

Myles Dread contributed 14 points off the bench, including some big time three-point shots off the bench. Those points weren’t enough to squeak by the Pirates.

How It Happened

Myreon Jones got the scoring going with a wide open three-point shot. A couple empty possessions for both teams finally ended with a Seton Hall dunk. But Penn State responded, as Izaiah Brockington drew a foul and made both free throws.

Seth Lundy seemed to pick up where he left off, as he hit a three pointer. Seton Hall responded by forcing its way into the paint, as all of their baskets before the media timeout were scored down low.

There was some quick back and forth scoring, starting with a fast break layup by the Pirates and then followed by a three pointer by Brockington. The Pirates come back again with a score in the paint after a Nittany Lions’ turnover. Trent Buttrick responded with a three pointer of his own, however.

After an offensive foul on Seton Hall, Sam Sessoms scored five straight points. He hit a contested three and then he blew by all the Pirate defenders to score an easy layup. The Nittany Lions went on an 16-0 scoring run and seemed to control the momentum midway through the first half.

Myles Dread decided to join the three point party, knocking down one to extend the lead. Then on the next possession, freshman Abdou Tsimbila found Lundy for a very slick layup before Seton Hall called a timeout.

Coming out of the timeout, Tsimbila had a massive block and Jamari Wheeler joined the scoring party and made a three pointer of his own.

Seton Hall had a nice layup, but Brockington quickly followed up with a fast layup of their own. On the other end, Penn State’s defense was great as they have stood their ground and forced offensive fouls. Then John Harrar followed up with a couple really strong inside moves and buckets.

Wheeler put up a three on the next offensive possession, however it bounced off the the rim. Luckily, Harrar was there and he slammed the ball into the hoop. The Pirates weren’t going to stay quiet though, hitting a three on the other side of the court.

Penn State did get sloppy with the ball towards the end of the first half. The Pirates were able to get some quick steals and baskets. Buttrick was able to make a key stop on the defensive end to stop Seton Hall from getting into a scoring run.

The Pirates were not going away, as they pushed the Nittany Lions into making mistakes and drawing fouls. They cut a 21 point lead into an 11 point lead in a matter of minutes.

Lundy was able to make a big three point shot to shake off some poor play towards the end of the half, but the Pirates were able to draw a foul and scored on a three-point play. The half came to an end with Penn State still in control, 45-34.

Seton Hall got the scoring started with a layup, and then a steal and score. Jones was able to answer that call with a midrange jump shot, but the Pirates kept the pressure and scored in the paint. Harrar responded with his own powerful layup in the paint.

The Pirates muscled their way into the paint, drawing a foul and making the basket. Lundy responded with a solid midrange shot, followed by a layup by Seton Hall, then the same from Dread, and then a three by the Pirates. The ball was flying in the basket on both ends.

Seton Hall made their first nine shots of the half and Penn State could not stop turning the ball over. It also doesn’t help when the team can’t make any baskets and the other team can’t miss. Jones sparked a little bit of scoring however, as he hit a three that tied the game.

The Pirates continued dominating the paint, while the Nittany Lions continued dominating the three point line. Dread was able to make a big three, and Jones followed up on the next offensive possession.

Harrar showed up in the paint, muscling his way to the basket and drawing a foul and making the free throw. He was a big bright spot, because Seton Hall controlled the paint on both sides of the floor.

Lundy was able to take the ball into the lane for a nice layup, and on the other end he was able to get a big block. Seton Hall responded with a layup of its own, and Sessoms hit a midrange jumper as a response. The Pirates were not going away though, as they hit a three that tied up the game.

After a Seton Hall timeout, Brockington was able to score on a nice layup. On the defensive end, Harrar got into a really good position to draw the offensive foul. Then, the Nittany Lions were able to find Dread for the open the three to extend the lead.

Dread made a big time three on the offensive end, had a bad inbounds play on the other end, and then had a steal after Seton Hall inbounded the ball. Jones then followed up with a layup of his own, however the Pirates hit a big three.

The Pirates then drove into the paint on their next offensive possession and drew a foul while making a basket. They then got a really easy dunk with under a minute left to tie the game.

Seton Hall had one last chance to win the game, and it missed the three. So, as the second half ended at 84-84, the game went into overtime.

Penn State won the opening tip, and Lundy drew a foul on the first possession of overtime. On the next offensive possession, Lundy hit a nice fadeaway jumper.

The Pirates were able to add a quick layup to cut Penn State’s lead to one point. Lundy was not going to give up, as he made a jump shot to push the lead back to three.

After two free throws for Seton Hall, the lead went back to one. A quick shot by Jones led to Harrar picking up his fourth foul and sent the Pirates to the free throw. They made one-of-two, and the game was tied again.

Sessoms had a big time layup to give the Nittany Lions a two point lead with under two minutes left in overtime. Seton Hall got back to the line, but it only made one-of-two free throws again.

The Pirates made a big three point shot and took a two point lead with under 40 seconds left. Coming out of a timeout, Sessoms drove into the paint and drew the foul. He only made one-of-two shots, which means Penn State had to foul.

Seton Hall hit both free throws, and on the next offensive possession, Sessoms missed a big layup. Penn State fouled again, and the Pirates continued to make free throws. Seton Hall was able to take the win, 98-92.

Takeaways

• We did not see a lot of Abdou Tsimbila, but the flashes we did see are exciting for the future. His insane wingspan and athleticism was on display when he got his first block of the game. He also showed that he could contribute in other ways, finding Seth Lundy for a nice assist. As Penn State plays opponents with bigger players, expect to see more of Tsimbila.
• Penn State could not handle the press. When Seton Hall started using the press, the Nittany Lions played poorly. The fact that the team could not handle the press or adjust to it is a big problem, especially when they turned the ball over so many times because of it. That has to be something they work on in practice, because if they don’t get better, Big Ten teams will hone in on it.
• Size proved to be a huge issue for the Nittany Lions. Seton Hall exploited the paint, and there was nothing they could do about it. They were out-muscled, and in turn they were outscored in the paint. It is something that will be a huge issue if they keep relying on Seth Lundy and Sam Sessoms to be the key defenders in the lane.

What’s Next

The Nittany Lions will travel to Blacksburg to take on Virginia Tech at 9 p.m. on Tuesday, December 8. The game will be a part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge and will air on ESPNU.