Penn State’s first road game in the Big Ten resulted in a sour loss for Micah Shrewsberry and his Nittany Lions. Penn State was overmatched in the first half by Michigan State and dug too big a hole to dig out of in the second half of an 80-64 setback on the road in East Lansing on Saturday afternoon.
If there was one thing that was painfully clear for Shrewsberry, it was how much Penn State needs to improve on the go. Michigan State obliterated Penn State in fastbreak points, and the Nittany Lions couldn’t manufacture many trips to the free-throw line. Penn State had just seven foul shots, and the three-point shooting was lagging behind what Michigan State was able to put together. Penn State was just 5-of-20 from beyond the arc while the Spartans connected on nine of 21 three-point shots.
not great, Bob! pic.twitter.com/fK4lQ2LwsU
— Sam Cooper (@SamDCooper) December 11, 2021
Michigan State, led by Gabe Brown’s 15 points, took a 42-29 lead into halftime after Penn State had hung tight with Michigan State for much of the first half. But Michigan State went on a 15-4 run to turn a two-point lead into the 13-point advantage at halftime. The Spartans held Penn State at arm’s length for the entire second half.
Seth Lundy had a good game in the box score with 18 points to lead all scorers, including 3-of-5 from three-point range and seven rebounds. Sam Sessoms added 12 points off the bench. But Michigan State controlled the boards with 40 rebounds to Penn State’s 28, providing far too many second chances for the offense and important ball control on defense.
Penn State will jump back into nonconference play for their next three games to try and work out a few issues before returning to Big Ten play for the remainder of the season. Penn State will play at VCU for their next game next Saturday, giving Penn State a week to regroup from their 0-2 start to Big Ten play.
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