Monday night was anything but easy for the Penn State men’s basketball team but a big night beyond the three-point line helped lead Penn State to a victory over previously undefeated Cornell. Penn State had a tough battle with the Big red all night long but the Nittany Lions improved to 3-1 on the season with an 85-74 victory over Cornell on Monday evening in the Bryce Jordan Center.
Penn State tied a program record for the most three-point shots in a single game, 15, with Sam Sessoms and Seth Lundy combining forces to drain 11 of those shots beyond the arc. Sessoms was 6-of-7 from three-point range and Lundy was 5-of-8.
Lundy led the Nittany Lions with a 23-point effort and John Harrar had a game-high 12 rebounds as he continues to pull down boards for the Nittany Lions.
“I told our guys as we were getting ready for this game that this was going to be a challenge, watching these guys on film and watching how they played,” Penn State head coach Micah Shrewsberry said in his postgame media session. “Cornell played at the highest pace in the country going into this game and they got eight transition points and that’s kudos to our effort. Our guys focused in terms of how they were going to guard them and I proud of our effort tonight.”
Cornell jumped on Penn State early and proved to be a real threat to a Penn State team still working to form a true identity. Cornell moved the ball well and took advantage of a slow start by the Nittany Lions at home, but Penn State hung tough and eventually found the shots that worked for them. Penn State’s defense came up in big spots too, especially in the second half as Penn State was working to put the game away.
Penn State now heads south to continue to play in the Emerald Coast Classic. Next up for the Nittany Lions is a matchup with the LSU Tigers in Niceville, Florida on Friday. LSU is off to a 5-0 start this season following its latest victory over Belmont on Monday night. LSU has yet to give up 60 points in a game this season, so Penn State will have to find a way to get some offense against the Tigers.
Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET on Friday, Nov. 26. The game can be seen on CBS Sports Network.
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