Size helps Penn State men’s basketball drop Canisius

Penn State went with a different starting lineup Thursday night.

Senior big men Jordan Dickerson and Donovon Jack replaced freshman guard Josh Reaves and redshirt sophomore forward Julian Moore for the matchup with Canisius at Rec Hall.

It was Penn State coach Patrick Chambers’ way of rewarding the seniors for their commitment to the program, and it played into the Nittany Lions’ game plan.

“I thought it was important for those guys to hear their names and start,” Chambers said. “And I felt like we needed to pound the ball inside, and we did that.”

Penn State scored 50 points in the paint and beat Canisius 81-67 in the program’s first of two games at its old home this week. Dickerson and Jack sparked an early eight-point run and set the tone as the Nittany Lions attacked the paint to build a 15-point halftime lead. Canisius cut that lead to as few as six points in the second half, but Penn State (6-3) rebuilt a comfortable lead and put away the Golden Griffins (3-5).

Senior forward Brandon Taylor paced the Nittany Lions with 18 points.

Chambers thought it would be special to start Taylor, Dickerson and Jack in the team’s return to Rec Hall.

All three were a part of the program when the Nittany Lions suffered an 81-79 overtime loss to Princeton at Rec Hall in December of 2013 — their first game there since January 1996. Taylor and Jack both started and played more than 30 minutes that day. Dickerson was sitting out after transferring to Penn State and was cleared to play by the NCAA the week after the Princeton loss.

“I don’t even think about the Princeton game anymore,” Taylor said. “… That’s in the past. I wasn’t worried about that because when you start thinking negative thoughts, that’s when negative outcomes come.”

Thursday was the 7-foot-1 Dickerson’s first start since the third game of the year, and the 6-foot-9 Jack’s first start of the season.

They established an inside presence in the opening minutes.

On the game’s first possession, Penn State guard Shep Garner took a dribble handoff from Jack, and received a screen from Dickerson out top before finding the 7-foot-1 center rolling down the lane for a layup.

The Nittany Lions went to him again on their second trip, and he finished inside. Dickerson then found Jack down low, floating a pass over the defense for another layup. A drive and finish by Garner gave Penn State an 8-0 lead just more than two minutes into the game.

“That’s something we’ve been working on all season, playing inside-out and not trying to take too many outside shots,” Taylor said.

Penn State started 6 for 7 from the field — with all seven shots coming inside the arc. Garner then knocked down the Nittany Lions’ first 3-point attempt nearly seven minutes into the game.

And when Canisius pulled within 17-16 with less than seven minutes left in the half, the 6-foot-10 Moore scored five straight points on back-to-back buckets on the block and a free throw to give the Nittany Lions a cushion.

Moore, who had started the previous five games, scored seven points in the first half. He was part of 14 for 19 effort by Penn State on shot attempts inside the arc in the first 20 minutes.

Penn State executed its game plan.

“That was a big difference,” Canisius coach Jim Baron said. “They got size. They got strength. They kind of wore us down inside.”

Moore scored 14 points, going 4 for 5 from the field and 6 for 6 from the foul line. Reaves came off the bench for the first time in his career and turned in an impressive performance highlighted by a handful of dunks. The freshman guard finished with eight points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and four steals in 33 minutes.

“He’s extremely skilled,” Chambers said of Moore. “Here’s another guy I took out of the starting lineup and man did he respond. He stepped up big time, so I was really proud of these two young guys — a freshman and a sophomore — coming off the bench and helping our bench bring passion and energy and enthusiasm.”

Jack got in foul trouble and played just five minutes, while Dickerson was perfect from the field to score seven points to go with five blocks.

Garner and Payton Banks each added 11 points to give Penn State four scorers in double figures.

The Nittany Lions also struggled with Canisius’ full-court press and finished with 21 turnovers. And Canisius grabbed 18 offensive rebounds.

But Penn State owned the paint to earn the win.

“We got some things to clean up and look forward to practice,” Chambers said. “But right now, we’re going to enjoy this first Rec Hall win.”

The Nittany Lions host Louisiana-Monroe at Rec Hall at 2 p.m. Saturday.

This story was originally published December 10, 2015 at 11:02 PM with the headline "Size helps Penn State men’s basketball drop Canisius."