Tag: Camren Wynter

NEC Player of the Year visiting Penn State

It sure seems as though Micah Shrewsberry is planning to be at Penn State next year judging by this key transfer visit.

It’s been a packed March for Penn State basketball.

First, it was their run to the conference tournament title game, then it was upsetting Texas A&M in the NCAA Tournament and giving two-seeded Texas a scare in the second round.

Now, Penn State fans sit by their phones hoping to hear news about an extension for head coach [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag]. John Rothstein of CBS Sports previously reported Penn State is expected to make a long-term commitment to Shrewsberry.

While waiting for any update regarding a possible extension, there has been some great news for the Penn State basketball program.

The Northeast Conference Player of the Year is in the transfer portal and was scheduled to meet with Shrewsberry and Penn State on Monday.

[autotag]Josh Cohen[/autotag] is a 6’10” upcoming senior who played at Saint Francis (PA) last season. He averaged 21.8 points per game and 8.3 rebounds per game, while shooting 58.5% from the field.

Cohen would provide some much-needed size and rebounding that the Nittany Lions were clearly lacking this season. The track record of transfer players impacting the program positively could play a huge role in landing the NEC Player of the Year.

The success of [autotag]Jalen Pickett[/autotag], [autotag]Andrew Funk[/autotag] and [autotag]Camren Wynter[/autotag] last season should comfort any player in the transfer portal who is looking for their next home.

Cohen has two years of eligibility remaining, making him a desired transfer target for multiple programs around the country.

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Penn State’s season ends against Texas in the second round

Penn State bows out of the NCAA Basketball Tournament in loss to Texas

Regardless of what the results were going into the NCAA Tournament, this team electrified Penn State fans across the country.

An amazing early March winning streak was capped with a run to the Big Ten Tournament where they were a possession away from winning the championship game. That firmly put them into March Madness for the first time since 2011.

The team wasn’t just satisfied with being in the dance, they wanted to perform. And they did in the first round, dominating seventh-seeded Texas A&M for their first tournament win since 2011.

Unfortunately, the magical season came to an end on Saturday night as the Nittany Lions fell to the two-seeded Texas Longhorns, 71-66.

The matchup was going to be tough for the undersized Penn State squad. Texas has been playing its best basketball of the season down the stretch. They dominated the Big 12 Tournament and won the championship in a decisive manner.

After Penn State’s hot shooting night on Thursday, they started this game off cold. They were held to single digits for the first 12 minutes of the game. Their defense was the only reason why they were still able to keep it close early on. Despite only nine points 12 minutes in, the deficit was two points.

Texas was able to get some separation right before half. Penn State went into the locker room trailing 23-31.

There were moments in the second half where it looked like the Longhorns were going to run away with the game. Penn State wasn’t shooting well and they could not stop Texas big man Dylan Disu.

However, they kept hanging around and hanging around, continuing to compete on both ends of the floor.

With just over six minutes remaining, they cut it to 54-55 after back-to-back threes by senior [autotag]Myles Dread[/autotag].

One minute later, Penn State took their first lead since two minutes into the game after [autotag]Camren Wynter[/autotag] hit two free throws. In the next possession, [autotag]Seth Lundy[/autotag] stole the ball and scored a layup on the other end to put the Nittany Lions up 58-55.

Texas called a timeout to regroup. After the timeout, it was Disu time. He scored six straight points to put the Longhorns back up by three. They continued on a 10-0 run that put them up by seven points with under a minute remaining.

That was the nail in the coffin for Penn State.

The matchup was a difficult one going into the game. If they shot the ball like they did against Texas A&M, it could have been a winnable one. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

Penn State finished the game shooting 41.7% from the field and 28.6% from three-point range. [autotag]Andrew Funk[/autotag], who was sensational in the first round, was 5-14 from the field and 2-10 from three.

Wynter had a team high 16 points. Dread, the all-time Penn State leader in games played, scored 12 points in his final game. [autotag]Jalen Pickett[/autotag] scored 11 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the last game of his sensational college career.

Disu had a game-high 28 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Sir’Jabari Rice added 13 points off the bench and Marcus Carr joined them in double digits with 10.

It was a tough way for the season to end, knowing that if a couple shots that are normally made go into the hoop this game, Penn State could be playing in the Sweet Sixteen. But that’s the fickle game of basketball. Sometimes they fall, and sometimes they don’t.

Now, all eyes are going to be on what Penn State will look like next season. This roster was the most experienced in the country. Losing the multiple impact seniors will require a roster overhaul to bring players in from the transfer portal to pair with the talented underclassmen.

All of that is a moot point if Penn State can’t keep coach Micah Shrewsberry in State College. It should be a top priority of the athletic department to secure him as head coach for the long haul.

There is clearly an appetite for Penn State basketball and having an elite head coach is the start of building a consistent program. Hopefully, the athletic department sees it the same way.

Let’s celebrate this team, players and coaching staff for giving Penn State fans an amazing season!

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Photos from Penn State’s NCAA Basketball Tournament second-round game

Check out the photo album from Penn State’s second-round matchup in the NCAA Basketball Tournament vs. Texas

Penn State’s men’s basketball season saw its season come to a close with a loss to the Texas Longhorns in the second round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament on Saturday night. A good effort saw the Nittany Lions put up a good respectable fight against the region’s second-seed and a win was there for the taking in the final minutes of the game, but Texas proved to be the better team and was able to capitalize on miscues by Penn State to pave their own path to the Sweet 16.

It was a tough night offensively for the Nittany Lions with three-point shots simply not falling for the team most of the night, a stark contrast to their first-round victory over Texas A&M. But the Nittany Lions took fans on a fun ride over the past month and the future could remain bright for more postseason fun like this in years to come as the program heads into a critical offseason.

Here are some of the best photos from Penn State’s second-round matchup with Texas from Des Moines, Iowa on Saturday.

Penn State dominates Texas A&M, advances in NCAA Tournament for first time since 2001

Andrew Funk’s big game fuels Penn State past Texas A&M in NCAA Basketball Tournament

Going into the NCAA Tournament, the goal is to be playing the best basketball of the season by the time the games start.

Penn State has been doing that in March.

After a great run before the Big Ten Tournament to get themselves into the March Madness conversation, they cemented themselves in the field by making the championship game. Even though they lost on the last possession, it was clear this Penn State team was peaking at the right time.

But, the NCAA Tournament was going to be a different challenge. Facing a Texas A&M team from a different conference whose style of play was different than what they’ve seen before was supposed to be a test of how good this team actually was.

The Nittany Lions answered all questions tonight winning 76-59.

This was a historic win for Penn State. It was the first NCAA Tournament win since 2001. It was the largest margin of victory for the program in NCAA Tournament history. [autotag]Andrew Funk[/autotag]’s 27 points were the most by a Penn State player in NCAA Tournament history.

It was also a weird game in many ways for Nittany Lions fans. This felt like the first time in about a month that the game didn’t come down to the wire.

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That’s because Penn State rarely trailed in this game. After trailing 2-4 in the first couple minutes of the game, Funk hit a three to put them back on top. Funk hitting threes was the theme of the game.

About five minutes into the first half, Texas A&M was up four points. That was their largest lead of the game. Once again, Funk hit a three to cut the lead to one point. After seesawing back and forth for a bit, [autotag]Jalen Pickett[/autotag] hit a jumper that put Penn State up 13-12 at the 11-and-a-half-minute mark.

They never trailed in the game again.

It was an utterly dominant performance by Penn State. They shot 48.2% from the field and a scorching 59.1% from behind the three-point line. They also held A&M to 33.9% shooting and 29.4% from three. This was easily the best game this team had played all season.

Funk was the star of the game tonight. He hit eight threes on 10 attempts to finish with the NCAA Tournament record of 27 points. Pickett was his usual dominant self, finishing with 19 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds. [autotag]Seth Lundy[/autotag] joined them in double figures with 10 points.

But it was truly a team effort. [autotag]Camren Wynter[/autotag] didn’t light up the box score, but he played a major part in frustrating Texas A&M’s best player Wade Taylor IV. Freshmen [autotag]Kebba Njie[/autotag] and [autotag]Evan Mahaffey[/autotag] had important stretches stifling the opposing bigs.

Penn State fans should be celebrating this historic victory because it was a long time coming.

They’ll be facing the second-seeded Texas Longhorns in Des Moines, Iowa on Saturday for the opportunity to play in the Sweet 16.

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Best photos from Penn State’s NCAA Tournament win over Texas A&M

Check out the best photos from Penn State’s blowout win over Texas A&M in the NCAA Basketball Tournament’s first round.

For the first time since 2001, Penn State’s men’s basketball team won a game in the NCAA Tournament, and it left no doubt who the better team was in its return to the Big Dance.

Penn State was dialed in from 3-point range in a rout of Texas A&M in the first-round matchup in the Midwest Region. Penn State was led by a monster performance by Andrew Funk in the win and advances to the second round to face Big 12 champion Texas on Saturday.

Here are some of the best photos from Penn State’s big night to cap the first full day of the NCAA Tournament from Des Moines, Iowa, on Thursday night.

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NCAA Tourney First Round Matchup: Penn State vs. Texas A&M

How do Penn State and Texas A&M compare, player vs. player? Let’s go to the tale of the tape to find out!

March Madness is officially here!

For the first time since 2011, Penn State is a part of the Big Dance.

After their impressive run in the Big Ten Tournament, the Nittany Lions are the 10 seed in the Midwest Region. They drew the 7th-seeded Texas A&M Aggies in their first-round matchup.

Since Texas A&M is an SEC team, these two teams rarely have played each other. They’ve actually only competed three times on the hard court, with A&M winning all three prior matchups. The most recent game was played in Brooklyn, NY in 2017.

Similarly to Penn State, the Aggies were in their conference tournament championship game where they lost to Alabama 63-82.

Many bracket analysts and pundits feel that Texas A&M is coming into this tournament under seeded after finishing both the SEC regular season and postseason in second place. On the surface, that presents a challenge for Penn State, who is playing a team in the first round they probably shouldn’t be facing.

Let’s take a look at both teams and see they compare.

Penn State’s Big Ten Tourney run ends in championship game

Furious rally comes up short for Penn State vs. Purdue in Big Ten championship game

Penn State had one of the most exciting March runs in recent program history. Coming into the tournament, they were firmly on the NCAA Tournament bubble.

They put themselves into the tournament with wins over Illinios and Northwestern on their way to their semifinal appearance. But they weren’t satisfied by just playing in the game. They beat Indiana to play in their second ever conference championship game and cement themselves in NCAA Tournament.

That run ended on Sunday after falling to Purdue 65-67.

Penn State made a flurry at the end of the game to come within one possession and a shot to win the game. They failed to get a shot off as [autotag]Camren Wynter[/autotag] was called for a travel before the shot attempt.

It was going to be a tall task to beat the Boilermakers who had beat them twice during the regular season. The best team in the Big Ten all season, Purdue is also expected to be a one seed when the bracket is released.

Penn State hit their first two buckets of the game to lead 4-0, but missed their next six shots. This got them into an early hole and they trailed by their largest margin of the entire tournament.

The Nittany Lions were fighting an uphill battle the entire first half as they tried to stay in the game. They were able to keep the margin close and went into halftime down 27-35.

The uphill battled continued all second half as Purdue kept pounding them in the paint and on the offensive glass. The Boilermakers pulled down 13 offensive rebounds and kept possessions alive they ultimately capitalized on.

With six and a half minutes to go, it looked like Purdue was going to run away with the game. They were up 17 points and had Penn State out of sorts.

But Penn State would not go away. They started chipping away at the lead with basket after a basket from their seniors.

After a dunk from freshman [autotag]Evan Mahaffey[/autotag] with just under three minutes remaining, Penn State trailed 58-64.

[autotag]Jalen Pickett[/autotag] cut the lead to four points after two made free throws, but Big Ten Player of the Year, [autotag]Zach Edey[/autotag], made a layup through a triple team to put the lead back up to six.

After [autotag]Andrew Funk[/autotag] missed a three, Purdue was fouled and on free throw line looking to put the game away for good.

Freshman guard [autotag]Fletcher Loyer[/autotag] missed both free throws and Penn State senior guard [autotag]Myles Dread[/autotag] hit a three to cut the lead to three points.

The ending got crazy after Purdue turned the ball over in the backcourt on the steal from Mahaffey. Wynter hit a layup to unbelievably cut the lead to one point with seven seconds remaining.

Loyer was on the line again for Purdue. He made the first one but missed the second giving Penn State an opportunity to win or tie the game.

They advanced the ball into the front court and called a timeout to set up the potential game-winning shot.

When Pickett inbounded the ball, it was tipped and created a scramble play to get up a shot.

Dread came up with the ball and found Wynter who has hit clutch shots for Penn State all season. He pump-faked once and then shuffled his feet when trying to get a clean look.

Travel. Game over.

[autotag]Seth Lundy[/autotag] led the Nittany Lions with 19 points and 8 rebounds. Wynter added 14 points and Pickett finished with 11.

Probable NCAA Player of the Year, Edey, finished with a game-high 30 points and 13 rebounds. [autotag]David Jenkins Jr.[/autotag] and [autotag]Mason Gillis[/autotag] joined him in double figures with 11 and 10 points respectively.

It was definitely a tough loss to stomach for Penn State and all its seniors. The magical postseason tournament run ended in heart breaking fashion.

But what a run it was!

Head coach [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] did an excellent job getting all the players to buy in and believe they could make this run. After coming into the tournament with questions about their March Madness hopes, they left no doubt they are a tournament team.

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Penn State holds off Indiana to advance to Big Ten Championship game

Jalen Pickett leads Penn State over Indiana and into the Big Ten championship game

It’s been a magical ride for Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament so far. After beating Illinois and Northwestern in close games, they faced their toughest test on Saturday against Indiana.

Indiana came into the tournament with hopes of winning it for the first time in program history. Penn State had those same aspirations, although they were certainly a longshot to pull it off.

It was Penn State who prevailed in the semifinal, winning 77-73, advancing to their second ever championship game.

The Nittany Lions got off to a slow start early and was down by six points four minutes into the game. After the media timeout, Penn State went on an 8-0 run to take a 14-12 lead after a [autotag]Myles Dread[/autotag] three.

They never relinquished their lead in the first half was dominating the game.

In the previous two games of the tournament, [autotag]Jalen Pickett[/autotag] had been very quiet on the offensive end. He wasn’t hitting his scoring averages and looked to be running out of gas.

He put that notion to bed early in this game. Pickett scored 13 points in the first half and was a big reason why Penn State was explosive on the offensive end.

They went into the locker room leading 34-26 at halftime.

After the Nittany Lions stifled Indiana’s offense in the first half, it was only a matter of time before the Hoosiers made their run.

Penn State did a good in the early minutes of the second half, extending their lead to 10 points. But right around the 17 minute mark, the Indiana run started.

Indiana tied the game at 47 with just over ten minutes left after a big [autotag]Trayce Jackson-Davis[/autotag] dunk. It looked like the momentum was swinging towards the Hoosiers and the game was getting away from Penn State.

The seniors for Penn State took over the game. Pickett made a layup, [autotag]Andrew Funk[/autotag] buried a three and [autotag]Camren Wynter[/autotag] assisted freshman [autotag]Kebba Njie[/autotag] for a dunk during their immediate 7-0 run.

From that point on, it was all Penn State. It looked like Funk put a dagger into Indiana when he drilled a 30 foot three point shot as the shot clock was expiring. That shot put them up by 11 points with four minutes left in the game.

But like all Penn State fans know, it’s not a Penn State basketball game unless it’s a nail biter.

With two minutes remaining in the game and the Nittany Lions up 13 points, it looked like the game was over.

That was certainly not the case.

Four turnovers and missed free throws kept Indiana in the game. They clawed at the lead possession by possession, capitalizing on all the late game mistakes given to them.

With 33 seconds left in the game, it was all of a sudden Penn State winning 74-73. [autotag]Seth Lundy[/autotag] was fouled and hit two clutch free throws to put them up three points. Indiana’s Big Ten Freshman of the Year, J[autotag]alen Hood-Schifino[/autotag], missed the game tying three and Nittany Lions players, coaches and fans let out a loud exhale in unison.

Pickett finished with a game high 28 points while adding eight rebounds and four assists. Lundy was the only other Penn State player in double figures with 16 points.

It was going to be difficult for Penn State to stifle consensus All-American Jackson-Davis. He finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. They did a good job on Hood-Schifino holding him to 11 points on 4-13 shooting.

Penn State now advances to the Big Ten Championship game for the second time in school history. In their only previous appearance, they lost to one seed Ohio State during the 2010-11 season.

This is the third time a double digit seed has made the championship game. Illinois did it twice in 1999 and 2008.

They’ll be facing a one seed again in Purdue who has already beaten the Nittany Lions in convincing fashion twice this season. Probable Player of the Year winner [autotag]Zach Edey[/autotag] has been a major problem for Penn State to contain and will have their hands full on Sunday.

The championship game will tip at 3:30pm ET on CBS.

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Penn State advances to Big Ten Tournament semifinals

Penn State is going to the Big Ten tournament semifinals

Another game, another thriller for Penn State basketball!

They survived another close game against Northwestern on Friday night, winning 67-65 in overtime.

This was the second time in the last two meetings between these teams that the game was decided in the overtime period. On March 1, at Northwestern, [autotag]Camren Wynter[/autotag] hit the game winner at the buzzer. On Friday night, in the Big Ten tournament, the roles were almost reversed.

To start the game, it was classic Big Ten basketball to put it kindly. There was a total of 14 combined points with ten minutes to play in the first half. Northwestern looked rusty and Penn State looked tired.

The scoring pace eventually ticked up and the Nittany Lions found themselves in another seesaw game. There were seven lead changes and four ties in the first half, which has been a staple of Penn State’s tournament games.

At the halftime buzzer, Penn State trailed 25-26.

After starting the first half on the back foot, the Nittany Lions came out swinging to start the second. Their mini 6-0 run gave them a 31-26 lead four minutes into the half.

Penn State kept Northwestern at arms length for a while, taking their largest lead of the game at seven points. But the Wildcats kept hanging around and hanging around, using their defense to stifle a normally potent attack.

With just over six minutes left in the game, Northwestern took their first lead of the second half.

[autotag]Seth Lundy[/autotag] answered with a three to give immediately give Penn State the lead back and the race to the finish was on from there.

In the final six minutes, the lead changed three times and the score was tied twice. It looked like Penn State was going to hit another walk-off shot against Northwestern, but [autotag]Andrew Funk[/autotag]’s three just missed off the back rim to keep the game knotted at 56.

Penn State looked to put the game away early in the extra period, getting out to a quick four point lead. Northwestern clawed their way back into the game and took the lead with over one minute left. Then Lundy hit another big three to give the lead back to the Nittany Lions.

That lead was never relinquished. Penn State survived a shot at the buzzer to advance to their first Big Ten Tournament semifinal since 2018.

The box score may not show it, but it was another quiet offensive night for [autotag]Jalen Pickett[/autotag]. He finished with 15 points and nine rebounds, but wasn’t as effective as normal. Lundy was the team’s leading scorer with 16 points and hit big shot after big shot. Yesterday’s star Andrew Funk had an off shooting night but finished with 14 points and seven rebounds.

A huge shoutout needs to be given to freshmen [autotag]Kanye Clary[/autotag] and [autotag]Kebba Njie[/autotag]. They stepped up and made huge plays tonight. Clary scored 11 points and dished two assists. Njie added three points and four rebounds, but played a huge part in not allowing Northwestern to use their size on the interior. Clary and Njie were headliners of the highest rated recruiting class Penn State has ever had.

Northwestern’s star players had an off night. Second team All-Big Ten guard Boo Buie scored 16 points but shot 35% from the field. Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Year Chase Audige finished with six points when he averages 14.1 per game.

It’s been a fantastic run for Penn State who has now won six out of their last seven games. They are playing fantastic team basketball and earned their way into the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament.

They’ll play the winner of Indiana and Maryland on Saturday at roughly 3:30 pm ET on CBS (25 minutes after the consluion of Purdue vs. Ohio State).

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Best photos from Penn State’s Big Ten quarterfinal win over Northwestern

Check out these photos from Penn State’s quarterfinal win over Northwestern

If a win over Illinois didn’t clinch Penn State’s at-large berth in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, then a win over Northwestern on Friday night in Chicago may have been more than enough to push the Nittany Lions into the big dance. Penn State’s overtime 67-65 victory over the Wildcats, its second overtime win over Northwestern in as many weeks, forced the team to dig deep and make some big shots in a game that was anything but pretty.

[autotag]Seth Lundy[/autotag] hit some big three-point shots toward the end of the game to help give Penn State the win, and [autotag]Jalen Pickett[/autotag] shrugged off a tough night to come up with some big moments of his own in the final stretch.

Here are some of the best photos from Penn State’s big win over Northwestern in the Big Ten men’s basketball tournament quarterfinal.