Five takeaways from Penn State men’s basketball’s 70-57 home win over Lafayette
Penn State men’s basketball returned to the Bryce Jordan Center for Friday night’s game after going 2-1 at the Charleston Classic and earned a victory over the Lafayette Leopards. The Nittany Lions left the arena with a 70-57 win that pushes their record to 6-1 on the season.
Here are five takeaways from Penn State’s win.
Similar philosophies force slow start ...
The Nittany Lions love shooting from deep almost as much as any team in the country, with 49.9% of their points coming from beyond the arc entering the game, good for second in the country. Right behind them with 49% and third in the country? Lafayette. This was always going to be a high scoring game, and it was unlikely to be decided in the game’s first 10 minutes because of that.
The Leopards started off making those shots while also getting to the rim and free-throw line early. That led to 19 of their first 21 points coming from those three areas with a mid-range jumper to open their scoring accounting for the other two points.
... and so did the team’s effort
That being said, Penn State’s effort didn’t do much to help the cause. The Nittany Lions struggled on defense and on the glass early.. They lacked effort in both areas and were sloppy on defense especially. The Leopards were able to rotate the ball and find open looks quickly with the Nittany Lions failing to rotate on defense or just missing the spot they were supposed to go to.
Penn State head coach Micah Shrewsberry said he thought the team’s effort was part of the reason for the slow start.
“One guy had like five offensive rebounds in the first nine minutes of the game,” he said. “That just shows we weren’t where we needed to be. But we also weren’t solid defensively. I thought we gambled a couple times and fouled them and they were getting free throws.”
Clary gets meaningful minutes
Penn State has rotated freshmen Jameel Brown, Kanye Clary and Evan Mahaffey in and out of the rotation early in the season, and Friday night it was Clary who got on the court first of the group. All three players bring distinct skill sets that allow Shrewsberry to play them all based on the matchups he wants.
Clary is a fast guard that can get downhill and put pressure on the rim, while Mahaffey is a chaos-creating defender and Brown is more of a scorer at this point in his career. It makes sense that Clary saw the first time, in large part because he could pressure the rim against a Lafayette defense that struggles in general and didn’t have the speed to keep up with him. The fourth freshman that isn’t a focus of the rotation, Demetrius Lilley, also made his debut when the game was well in hand.
Njie earns second start
The team’s fifth freshman isn’t bunched into that group because he’s already a key figure for the team. Freshman center Kebba Njie made his second career start after making one against Colorado State in the team’s last game. He’s the team’s best option for legitimate size at center right now with Lilley not ready for a full-time spot in the rotation.
Njie scored five points and hauled in five rebounds. And he helped the Nittany Lions pull away. The Leopards were worried enough about his size that they double-teamed him often. That allowed Njie to move the ball to open teammates and allowed them to swing the ball around the perimeter as the Leopards chased them around the arc.
Pickett maintains consistency
It would feel wrong not to mention the best player on the court Friday night.. Jalen Pickett was once again a model of consistency and had a run of the mill 18 points on 10 shots from the floor, eight assists and six rebounds. He’s continually putting the Nittany Lions in the best position he can on offense, so it’s no surprise that they outscored Lafayette by 30 when he was on the floor.
Pickett is Penn State’s best player and one of the best in the Big Ten. That has become increasingly clear as his usual performances are ones that most would define as the best of their career.
