Field Level Media
Nov 27, 2021
Jalen Pickett scored 14 points and Seth Lundy added 13 as Penn State leaned on its defense to deliver a 60-45 victory Saturday over Oregon State in the third-place game of the Emerald Coast Classic at Niceville, Fla.
Myles Dread added 12 points as the Nittany Lions (4-2) held the Beavers to 25-percent shooting in the first half and 31.4 percent for the game, in winning one day after a 68-63 overtime defeat to LSU.
Jarod Lucas had 11 points and was the only one in double figures for the Beavers (1-6), who trailed 29-17 at halftime and did not reach the 20-point mark until Ahmad Rand hit a 3-pointer with 14:51 to play.
Oregon State was just 4 of 17 (23.5 percent) from 3-point range and was unable to rebound after an 80-77 defeat to Wake Forest in overtime Friday. The Beavers, who advanced to the Elite Eight last season, are on a five-game losing streak after a victory over Portland State in their season opener.
Penn State shot just 40.7 percent from the field in the first half, but it was good enough as Oregon State made just seven field goals in the opening 20 minutes. The Nittany Lions also finished at 40.7 percent for the game.
In the midst of an 11-0 run midway through the second half, the Nittany Lions pushed their advantage to 20 points at 46-26 with 10:14 remaining and got it to 52-26 with 8:03 to go on a 3-pointer from Jalen Pickett. The run included eight points from Pickett.
Oregon State was able to put together a 13-2 run to pull within 54-39 with 4:10 remaining, but the early shooting struggles were too big to overcome.
The large second-half deficit gave the Beavers the opportunity to use 13 players, with 10 of those getting at least 11 minutes of court time.
Pickett had seven assists for Penn State as the Nittany Lions had 14 assists to just three for the Beavers.
--Field Level Media