After getting a bit of a battle from one in-state opponent Friday night against Lehigh, the Penn State men’s basketball team wasted no time in setting the tone against St. Francis (Pa.) on Tuesday night in the Bryce Jordan Center. [autotag]Kanye Clary[/autotag] led the Nittany Lions with 14 points in an 83-53 victory over the Red Flash.
Penn State had a balanced attack from start to finish. Four players ended in double figures. [autotag]Zach Hicks[/autotag] and [autotag]Qudus Wahab[/autotag] each had 12 points and [autotag]Ace Baldwin Jr.[/autotag] added 11 points. Wahab also had 6 rebounds to lead the Nittany Lions. [autotag]Demetrius Lilly[/autotag] picked up four offensive rebounds in his 10 minutes of game time. He also scored a career-high 8 points.
Penn State saw the debut of North Carolina transfer [autotag]Puff Johnson[/autotag]. Johnson came off the bench and scored 6 points and 4 rebounds in 16 minutes.
Penn State jumped all over St. Francis from the opening tipoff by running out to a 10-2 lead in the opening minutes. After St. Francis finally put some point son the scoreboard four minutes in, Penn State went on an 18-2 run. The defense was masterful against the Red Flash and never allowed for a chance to crawl back into this one.
Next up for Penn State is one final home game before heading to Florida for a Thanksgiving weekend tournament. Penn State hosts Morehead State on Friday night. Morehead State will come to State College with a 2-2 record that includes losses to Alabama and Purdue and wins over Shawnee State (Ohio) and Mercer.
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