Penn State men’s basketball (4-2) took care of Oregon State (1-6) with a 60-45 win in the consolation game of the Emerald Coast Classic on Saturday.

Jalen Pickett led the way with 14 points and seven assists on the day. He and Jalanni White paced the Nittany Lions with seven rebounds, too.

How It Happened

It took a couple of minutes before either team could get settled offensively, but the Beavers scored the first basket of the game. Sam Sessoms quickly responded with a layup, which has to be good to see since he didn’t score until the second half against LSU.

Oregon State extended its lead to five points, but Pickett hit back-to-back threes to cut into the lead. Suddenly, the Nittany Lions were down by one.

Bench players got a chance to shine for the Nittany Lions down the stretch. Dallion Johnson hit an open three and brought down two rebounds, and White scored on a nice put-back layup.

Lundy started to get hot, scoring on two consecutive drives down low in the paint. On the next possession, Dread was able to hit a second-chance three after Jaheam Cornwall missed a three of his own. Johnson hit two three-pointers with under a minute left in the half, and the Nittany Lions went into halftime up 29-17.

John Harrar got the second half started with a tough layup, and Dread followed up with a big-time three that forced Oregon State to burn an early timeout in the second half. Dread would hit another three two minutes later, and despite there being really no offense at the beginning of the second half, Penn State was in control.

Lundy was able to get to the free-throw line and sink both of the freebies. White then followed up with a put-back layup, and then Lundy got a lucky roll to sink his first triple of the game. The Nittany Lions had an 18 point lead with just under 11 minutes left in the game.

It then became the Jalen Pickett show, as he scored eight consecutive points for the Nittany Lions. Those baskets included two last-second, shot clock beating threes, the second of those being from nearly half-court. Harrar got another layup to extend the lead, but the Beavers were not giving up. They went on a 9-0 run to start creeping back in the game.

A Dread three and Lundy dunk were the nails in the coffin that gave Penn State the 60-45 win over the Beavers.

Takeaways

• Have a day, Dallion Johnson! At the end of the first half, he had a team high nine points, and that’s what he would finish with. He would also finish the game with three rebounds as well. It was really nice to see him have a breakout game and even just some meaningful minutes on the court. If he can continue to build off this performance, he can develop into a key bench piece for the Nittany Lions.
• It felt like today was a much more complete performance for Penn State. Everyone was contributing, whether it was through scoring or through gathering rebounds. Every player that stepped on the court helped Penn State win this game, and that is a big stepping stone for future games later in the season.
• It is good to know that even when John Harrar and Sam Sessoms have poor games, the Nittany Lions can find a way to win. Jalen Pickett was the leader in the points category with 14, and Myles Dread was finally getting some confidence back with 12 points, all of which were from behind the arc. It is a positive sign, but hopefully, it isn’t a sign to come that Sessoms and Harrar will struggle moving forward.

What’s Next

The Nittany Lions return to Happy Valley to play Miami in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Wednesday, December 1. The game will tip off at 9:15 p.m. and air on ESPNU.