How Penn State men’s basketball came up short on the road against Maryland
Penn State men’s basketball couldn’t extend its winning streak to three games Monday night on the road, falling to the Maryland Terrapins in College Park, 67-61.
The game was tight from the opening tip with both teams showing off their defensive prowess and playing at a slow pace with relatively little fouling.
The Lions relied on senior center John Harrar early on. He fought on the offensive glass, much like he has all season, and scored six of his team’s first nine points. His presence opened up the offense for his teammates, using handoffs and ball screens to give them room to get downhill and attack the rim.
Maryland forward Donta Scott provided a similar presence for Maryland, using more skill than brute strength to help the Terps’ offense get going.
The same couldn’t be said for Penn State senior guard Jalen Pickett, who struggled to make shots in the first half. Pickett found his way to the spots he usually gets to, in the mid-range and around the rim, but was unable to consistently finish. He made only 2 of his 10 field goal attempts in the game’s first 20 minutes and scored only four points.
The senior guard made up for his inefficient scoring in the half by dishing out four assists to his teammates and helping the Lions head into the half tied at 28 with the Terrapins.
Both Scott and Harrar ultimately led their teams in first-half scoring with eight points each.
Pickett and his counterpart, Maryland guard Fatts Russell, did most of the heavy lifting to begin the second half. The Nittany Lion scored his team’s first four points while Russell scored Maryland’s first seven to start the half.
Maryland took advantage of Russell’s scoring to pull out to a 48-39 lead with 11 minutes left in the second half. The Terps continued to build that lead and kept Penn State at bay for much of the second half. They made the change to a zone defense that helped fuel the strong stretch of play.
The Lions were unable to get the ball to the interior against the zone and couldn’t find open shots when they had the ball.
They were able to find enough solutions, thanks to an increasingly effective Pickett, to put more pressure on the Maryland zone and rendered it far less effective than it had been to that point.
The Nittany Lions cut the Maryland lead to six with 3:21 left in the half as they trudged back into the game on the back of their own defense, which held the Terps scoreless from the 6:20 mark until the 0:53.3 mark.
The offense was unable to make up the difference at that time, however, dropping Penn State to 11-13 on the season and 6-10 in the Big Ten.
Player of the game
Maryland senior guard Eric Ayala: The Nittany Lions didn’t have much of an answer for Ayala in the second half and his shooting ultimately gave Maryland enough to keep its victory down the stretch. The senior guard finished the game with 13 points and 3-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc, with his scoring primarily coming in the second half when he scored 10 points. He pulled up from all over the court and made Penn State pay any time the Nittany Lions couldn’t fight over a screen or lost track of him when he didn’t have the ball in his hands. His shooting wasn’t the only reason Maryland was able to maintain its lead, but it did provide enough of a cushion for the Terps to close out the win.
Stat of the game
13: That’s how many turnovers Penn State had in Monday night’s game. The Nittany Lions have struggled with turnovers this season and the issue reared its ugly head against Maryland. They only have two players that can consistently handle the ball in Pickett and senior guard Sam Sessoms. Those two accounted for seven of the turnovers and some poor decision-making and poor passes from the rest of the team made that number reach even higher. There won’t be much head coach Micah Shrewsberry can do to fix the issue other than wait until next season as he continues to reshape the roster into his image on the offensive end of the court as a first-year head coach.
Up next
vs. Northwestern: The Nittany Lions head back home for their next matchup, taking on the Northwestern Wildcats in the team’s Senior Night matchup. They’ve already played the Wildcats this season, defeating them on the road, 74-70, in early January.
Northwestern entered Monday night 12-13 overall on the season and 5-11 in conference play, including 3-5 on the road when taking on Big Ten opponents. The two teams are fighting for positioning in the conference with the beginning of the Big Ten Tournament in just over two weeks.
This story was originally published February 21, 2022 at 9:13 PM.
