For the first time this season, Penn State lost a men’s basketball game at home in the Bryce Jordan Center. Penn State lost to Miami on Wednesday night in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, snapping a three-game winning streak in the conference crossover event. Penn State lost to the Hurricanes, 63-58.
Miami started the night on a hot note from three-point range with all four of their first shots made of the game coming from beyond the three-point line for a lead at the first media timeout. Penn State battled some turnover issues in the first half of a defensive game as well, so it was imperative for the Nittany Lions to continue playing solid defense to keep the game from getting too out of hand on their home court.
Penn State took a lead in the second half during a 15-2 run fueled by John Harrar, who had his third double-double this season, having an impact, but Miami responded and regained momentum to take a 51-48 lead with under eight minutes to play. Penn State was unable to climb out of the hole the rest of the night.
Harrar was a clean 6-for-6 shooting the basketball to tie a season-high 16 points. Seth Lundy added 14 points.
Sam Sessoms had a tough night shooting just 4-of-12, including an 0-for-2 from three-point range. Sessoms finished with eight points. Myles Dread shot 3-for-9, with all three shots being three-pointers for all nine of his points on the night.
Penn State is now 4-3 overall at the start of December, including its 3-1 mark at home. The Nittany Lions are 1-2 against power-conference opponents with losses to LSU and Miami and a victory over Oregon State.
Next up for Penn State is a jump into Big Ten play with a home game against Ohio State. The Nittany Lions host the Buckeyes on Sunday, Dec. 5 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
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