The Penn State men’s basketball team will look to run their record to 2-0 tonight as they’re at UMass to take on the Minutemen.
The Nittany Lions beat Youngstown State, 72-59, in Micah Shrewsberry’s first game as Penn State’s new head coach. The trio of Seth Lundy, Sam Sessoms and John Harrar led the way, scoring 56 points and collecting 25 rebounds in the victory.
One player that didn’t take part in the opener and that will not be on the court tonight is forward Jevonnie Scott, who Shrewsberry says is out for personal reasons. Scott (6-foot-7, 240 pounds) joined the Penn State program after playing last season at South Plains College, where he averaged 9.5 points and 4.7 rebounds.
UMass has split their first two games of the season, beating UMBC (77-60) and losing on Friday to Ivy League preseason favorite Yale (91-71). Former Nittany Lion Trent Buttrick is leading UMass in scoring and rebounding after two games with 13.5 points and 5.5 rebounds. The other player Penn State will have watch out for is guard Noah Fernandes, who’s averaging 12.5 points this season.
This is the first meeting between these two programs since 1991, when they were members of the Atlantic 10. Penn State has the advantage in the all-time series, 13-10.
