Tag: Evan Mahaffey

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 stuns Northwestern at the buzzer in overtime

Penn State picked up a much-needed win on the road in exhilarating fashion at Northwestern

It is now March. It’s time for the best basketball of the season to be played right now.

After Penn State’s heartbreaking collapse at home on Sunday versus Rutgers, it seemed like their NCAA Tournament hopes were all but over. Coach [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] stressed after the game that he had confidence in his team to be able to respond on the road against Northwestern in their Senior Night game.

That was a high vote of confidence considering Penn State’s road struggles this season and Northwestern’s success at home with only four prior losses.

Shrewsberry was right. His team responded and pulled off a huge road upset in overtime.

Senior guard [autotag]Camren Wynter[/autotag] was sensational. He scored a game-high 24 points with four threes. His most important one of the night came at the buzzer in overtime.

[autotag]Jalen Pickett[/autotag] missed a fadeaway with eight seconds left. Freshman forward [autotag]Evan Mahaffey[/autotag] outhustled three Wildcats and corralled the offensive rebound. He then threw a pass back to [autotag]Andrew Funk[/autotag] who found Wynter in the corner for an open three.

Dagger. Game winner.

It wasn’t easy for the Nittany Lions. They started the game slow, scoring five points in the first eight minutes of the game. With over seven minutes left in the first half they were in a 10-point hole.

The offense eventually came late in the half. They scored 14 points in the last five and a half minutes to go into the locker room down four.

Two minutes into the second half, Penn State took their first lead of the game since it was 5-3 in the opening minutes. After that, this game was a dogfight.

It felt like Northwestern was going to pull away at any point. The patented home Big Ten team run was right around the corner. But every time they started to pull away, a Penn State player would hit a big shot to keep them in the game.

There were three ties and five lead changes in the second half, including the last minute being tied at 61.

Right at the end of regulation Funk had a wide-open look to win it at the buzzer, but the three rimmed out.

After the poor shooting from seniors Funk and [autotag]Seth Lundy[/autotag] on Sunday, they responded with big-time shots on the road. Each player hit four threes and combined to go 8-18 from deep. Funk finished with 17 points and eight big rebounds. Lundy finished with 14 points and six rebounds of his own.

But it was Wynter time in this one. The senior guard has been on a tear lately, averaging 18ppg in his last four games. This was his most important game in a Penn State uniform, keeping their March Madness dreams alive.

Pickett had a quiet scoring night, but finished with 11 assists and set the Penn State all-time record for assists in a season. Northwestern senior guard [autotag]Boo Buie[/autotag] finished with 20 points. Sophomore guard [autotag]Brooks Barnhizer[/autotag] added 19 off the bench.

Penn State’s next game will be at Noon on Sunday against Maryland. This will be their Senior Night game where they honor the seniors in the program.

The game will air on Big Ten Network.

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Photos from Penn State basketball’s big road win at Ohio State

Check out the photos from Jalen Pickett and Penn State’s big road win at Ohio State to keep tournament hopes alive.

[autotag]Jalen Pickett[/autotag] was a man on a mission on Thursday night as Penn State came away with a massive road win at Ohio State. While a win against the Buckeyes doesn’t carry the weight this season it has in previous years, the Nittany Lions needed the win in Columbus to keep their hopes of reaching the NCAA tournament alive. And Pickett rose to the occasion.

Pickett put the team on his shoulders with a strong second-half performance to continue making a great impression on the national radar. If Pickett can continue to carry the load for the Nittany Lions in the final stretch of the regular season, the tournament hopes will continue to build momentum at the right time.

Here are some of the best photos from Penn State’s 75-71 victory at Ohio State on Thursday evening.

Evan

Best photos from Penn State basketball’s win over Illinois

Here are the best photos from Penn State basketball’s big win over Illinois.

After four difficult losses in Big Ten play, to say Penn State needed a win on Tuesday night would be a massive understatement, But Penn State came out with some hot shooting and [autotag]Jalen Pickett[/autotag] electrified the offense with a 41-point outburst as the Nittany Lions snapped its losing ways with a home win against Illinois,

Penn State knocked off Illinois in a high-scoring affair with a 93-81 victory in the Bryce Jordan Center on Tuesday evening. The win improved Penn State to 15-11 overall and 6-9 in Big Ten play. The win came on a big night for the Big Ten standings as Wisconsin and Nebraska also won their games on Tuesday night, allowing the Nittany Lions to avoid falling farther down the Big Ten standings.

Here are some of the best photos from Penn State’s big home win against the Illini.

Penn State basketball can’t slow down No. 1 Purdue

Penn State had no answer for Purdue’s Mason Gillis in Wednesday night’s road loss

Penn State has seen some terrific nights throwing three-pointers through the net this season, but on Wednesday night the fortune was reversed in a big way. Purdue’s Mason Gillis was a man on fire from three-point range as he turned in a career night with nine made three-pointers and 29 points in a 80-60 victory over Penn State.

Penn State trailed the Boilermakers by six at halftime but could not keep up the pace after halftime. Similar to their previous meeting with Purdue in Philadelphia earlier this season, Purdue had everything working for it after halftime while Penn State could not keep pace. Such is the difference between a polished program like Purdue, which has lost just once all season, and Penn State, a program that is showing signs of improvement but is looking to continue taking the next steps forward.

While there is no shame in losing on the road against the top-ranked team in the country, there could be some frustrations for head coach [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag], who for the second time saw his team lag behind Purdue after the halftime break. This is the second double-digit road loss for Penn State in the past week after losing at Rutgers so badly last week that Shrewsberry openly criticized his team’s effort (which led to a big turnaround with a big home win against Michigan).

[autotag]Seth Lundy[/autotag] was Penn State’s leader in scoring with 18 points and rebounds with six. [autotag]Jalen Pickett[/autotag] added 12 points with seven assists and five rebounds. But [autotag]Andrew Funk[/autotag] managed to contribute just two points and was a cold 0-for-6 from three-point range. Penn State’s bench contributed 15 points with [autotag]Camryn Wynter[/autotag] and [autotag]Myles Dread[/autotag] limited to just three points each in 31 combined minutes.

[autotag]Evan Mahaffey[/autotag] was a bit of a bright spot off the bench with seven points on 3-for-3 shooting in 14 minutes. But this night was all about Purdue’s Gillis and his 29 points in 24 minutes.

Penn State dropped one game below .500 in Big Ten with the loss. The Nittany Lions will look to get a rebound win when they travel to Nebraska for a Sunday afternoon game.

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Penn State basketball comes up short at Wisconsin

Photos from Penn State basketball’s road loss at Wisconsin in Big Ten play.

Second-half struggles came back to haunt Penn State on the road at Wisconsin on Tuesday night with the Nittany Lions coming up short in a 63-60 setback. Penn State led the way at the halftime mark following a back-and-forth first half, but Wisconsin’s defense clamped down on the Penn State offense in the second half as Penn State was outscored 33-24 after halftime.

[autotag]Jalen Pickett[/autotag] led the Nittany Lions with 19 points and 12 rebounds for a double-double, his fifth of the season. [autotag]Andrew Funk[/autotag] chipped in 16 points and [autotag]Myles Dread[/autotag] added 11 points off the bench.

[autotag]Seth Lundy[/autotag] was limited to just 22 minutes after getting into foul trouble. He and [autotag]Evan Mahaffey[/autotag] ran into foul trouble, but Lundy had an especially tough outing against the Badgers with just

Penn State sat just 9-of-24 in the second half and was 3-for-11 from three-point range.

The loss drops Penn State to 12-6 overall and 3-4 in the Big Ten. The Badgers improved to 12-5 overall and 4-3 in conference play. Penn State will return home for its next game on Saturday against Nebraska.

Best photos from Penn State’s game vs. Purdue at the Palestra

Here are the best photos from Penn State basketball’s game at the Palestra vs. Purdue

Penn State basketball once again made itself at home in one of college basketball’s historic venues, the Palestra in Philadelphia, on Sunday evening against one of the top teams in the sport, the Purdue Boilermakers. Purdue brought a no. 1 ranking into the Palestra and looked to avoid being the first top-ranked team in the AP poll to lose a game in the arena in over 60 years, but Penn State gave the Boilermakers a bit of a scare in the first half.

Penn State couldn’t build off the energy of leading Purdue at halftime and struggled to slow down the momentum shift favoring Purdue after halftime.

Here are some of the best photos from Penn State’s virtual home game in the Palestra against No. 1 Purdue.

Penn State Basketball Snapshot Profile: Evan Mahaffey

Penn State men’s basketball profiles: Evan Mahaffey

Penn State men’s basketball is heading into its second season under head coach [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag], and the bar is looking to be raised as the Nittany Lions look to return to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament for the first time since 2011. With a roster of key returning veterans and fresh new talent from the recruiting efforts of the new staff, there is a sense of optimism to rely on in the 2022-23 season.

Over the course of the preseason, will are profiling each player on the roster to help fans get acquainted with this year’s roster of Nittany Lions men’s basketball players and what kind of role each player will be taking on for Shrewsberry.

Here is a quick look at one of the top freshmen coming into the program from the Class of 2022.

Preseason Profile: Evan Mahaffey

Position Guard/Forward
Year Freshman
Hometown (High School) Cincinnati, Ohio
(Archbishop Moeller)
Height 6-6
Weight 200

Recruiting Profile

[autotag]Evan Mahaffey[/autotag] was a big get for Penn State head coach Micah Shrewsberry in the Class of 2022. Mahaffey was a four-star prospect according to 247Sports and among the top players in the state of Ohio. Mahaffey committed to Penn State over offers from his hometown Cincinnati Bearcats and West Virginia, among others.

Mahaffey was a part of a high school program that went 64-12 and won a Greater Cincinnati League championship over three years and he was named a finalist for 2022 Ohio Mr. Basketball. He was named the Ohio Player of the Year by Cincinnati.com.

Role in 2022-23

Evan Mahaffey will certainly be a key cog in the Penn State starting five down the line, but expect him to contribute some good quality depth off the bench in his freshman season. Mahaffey’s ability to play multiple positions should allow Micah Shrewsberry to use one of his talented freshmen in a variety of ways as needed for now, and any experience gained will benefit Mahaffey moving forward.

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Penn State Men’s Basketball Class of 2022 sets bar high for future of program

Here’s the full rundown of Penn State basketball’s Class of 2022, regarded as the best in program history

The future of Penn State men’s basketball provided a big dose of optimism with the signing of the first recruiting class under head coach Micah Shrewsberry. Shrewsberry quickly signed one of the best recruiting classes in Penn State’s program history. Penn State set the bar high on the recruiting trail as Shrewsberry begins forming the foundation for the future of the program.

Penn State’s Class of 2022 is actually the highest-rated recruiting class in school history, and this was without the benefit of a full recruiting cycle since being hired as the head coach for Shrewsberry.

Here’s a look at Penn State basketball’s Class of 2022, the first signed by Micah Shrewsberry.