Penn State bounced back from a sluggish start to beat Lafayette 70-57 Friday night at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Lafayette (1-6) jumped out to a 7-3 lead to start to game. Penn State (6-1) scored its first three field goals on 3-pointers. The two came from Cam Wynter. Penn State looked sluggish at the beginning of the game, getting out hustled and outrebounded by the Leopards. Lafayette led 19-12 lead at the under-12 timeout of the first half.
Penn State went on a 12-2 run featuring 3-pointers from Jalen Pickett and Myles Dread and a layup from Dallion Johnson. Penn State started to get a hold on Lafayette’s offense as the first half progressed.
Seth Lundy made a 3-pointer, and a layup sparked a run that put Penn State up by seven points toward the end of the first half. Lafayette showed fight and effort throughout the first half and stayed in the game.
Penn State led Lafayette 42-32 at halftime on the strength of a 30-13 run following the under-12 media timeout in the first half. Penn State went 8-for-16 from the 3-point line in the first half and 7-7 on layups.
Penn State continued its onslaught in the second half with a 13-2 run to put the game out of reach.
Lafayette went scoreless for 5:27 in the second half and that was what doomed the Leopards. Penn State led by as much as 26 points in the second half, and Lafayette chipped away at the lead in garbage time.
Pickett led Penn State with 18 points to go along with seven assists, followed by Lundy, who had 15 and a team-leading 7 rebounds. Wynter scored 11 points and went 3-for-5 on 3-point field goals. Leo O’Boyle led Lafayette with 19 points and Josh Rish Rivera led Lafayette with eight rebounds.
Penn State shot 48.2 percent from the field and held Lafayette to 32.1 percent from the field, recording 17 assists to Lafayette’s 13 for the game. Lafayette outrebounded Penn State 40-33.
Penn State will play at Clemson in the Big Ten-ACC challenge Tuesday night. Lafayette will play at to Drexel Wednesday night.
Twitter: @bwalkerdadon
