Penn State men’s basketball (3-1) never looked back from an impressive start Tuesday night as it defeated No. 15 Virginia Tech (4-1) 75-55 in Blacksburg.

Izaiah Brockington led the Nittany Lions with 24 points, while Myreon Jones added 14. Seth Lundy didn’t score after averaging over 23 points through the first three games of the season.

Penn State snapped Virginia Tech’s 35 game non-conference win streak at home, which was the third-longest in the nation.

How It Happened

No. 15 Virginia Tech opened the scoring via a Wabissa Bede three, but Penn State responded with authority. The Nittany Lions went on a dominant 17-0 run to force a Virginia Tech timeout early in the first half.

Jim Ferry’s squad was led by Brockington during the initial flurry, who scored nine points seemingly before anyone had taken a deep breath.

The Hokies have already turned the ball over five times through the first six minutes and change.

— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) December 9, 2020

The Hokies began to heat up after the timeout, responding with a modest 10-4 run of their own. Between Penn State’s transition play and a lack of fouls, the first media timeout didn’t come until 9:01 to play in the first half, with the Nittany Lions up 24-13.

Penn State forced yet another turnover out of the timeout, the Hokies’ seventh of the night.

The game began to slow down with eight minutes to play in the half, but the Nittany Lions were still able to find scoring opportunities. A strong stint at center from freshman Abdou Tsimbila stifled the larger Hokies offense, and Penn State expanded its lead to 31-15 with 5:30 to play.

Whenever the Nittany Lions went a few possessions without scoring, the Hokies helped them out by being sloppy themselves.

Virginia Tech closed the half shooting 1-for-5 from the free throw line, and Penn State headed to the locker room with a 42-23 lead without having shot a free throw themselves.

In the first half, the Lions shot 51% from the field and never turned the ball over.

Penn State’s blistering scoring rate continued to begin the second half. Brockington once again led the charge, although big shots from Myreon Jones and Sam Sessoms ballooned the lead to 27 with 15 minutes to play.

The Nittany Lions finally recorded a turnover, but Sessoms recovered the loose ball and turned it into a Jones three pointer. At that point, it seemed like it would just be a one-of-a-kind sort of night for Penn State.

With the score at 60-34, the ESPN announcers even ventured to call Penn State’s basketball “flawless.” Unfortunately for the Nittany Lions, their run of form was simply unsustainable, and the Hokies brought the lead back to 21 with 10 minutes to play.

Penn State once again got the confidence back with a sweet Jamari Wheeler lob to John Harrar for a layup. A Myles Dread three and two Virginia Tech missed layups from offensive rebounds led to the penultimate media timeout of the contest, with Penn State leading 73-45.

With the lead seemingly unassailable, Penn State was content to trade buckets with Virginia Tech in the closing stages of the game. DJ Gordon, Caleb Dorsey, Taylor Nussbaum, and Patrick Kelly joined Tsimbila on the court to close out the final minutes of the game en route to a 75-55 win.

Takeaways

• There were many Penn State highlights on Tuesday night, although the reason the Nittany Lions won was due to the lack of turnovers. Virginia Tech were only able to force five errors from Penn State, and none in the first half. That is a vast improvement after beginning the season averaging 13.7 a game.
• This team has multiple game changers. Seth Lundy went cold, and Izaiah Brockington stepped up for a career performance. The St. Bonaventure transfer finished with 24 points and eight rebounds, pacing his side to a statement win early in the campaign. Penn State’s schedule will not slow down as conference play looms, and in the Big Ten a team can’t survive without multiple threats.
• Another thing you can’t have in the Big Ten? Slow finishes. Luckily for the Nittany Lions, they bounced back from the Seton Hall collapse with a lethal killer instinct against the Hokies. It’ll be imperative for Ferry’s team to translate Tuesday’s result to conference play.

What’s Next

The Nittany Lions will begin conference play on Sunday when they travel to Ann Arbor to face Michigan. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. and will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.