Penn State got its biggest win of this season and perhaps of the Micah Shrewsberry era with a 74-59 win at No. 17 Illinois. Illinois came in as an 11.5-point favorite.
Jalen Pickett and Andrew Funk each had 20 points, and Funk went 6-9 from 3-point land.
Seth Lundy added 16 and Myles Dread had 15, with all five coming on 3-pointers. Dread went 5-9 from beyond the arc., and Penn State went 12-24 from 3 for the day.
Penn State played well in the first half and led, 47-38, going into the break. Jalen Pickett led the way with 16 points and Seth Lundy had 13.
In the second half, Penn State stretched the lead to 14, but Illinois fought to cut the deficit to nine by the half’s first media timeout and ended up getting it to within five before Penn State could score again.
Penn State got the lead back up to 14 on three consecutive 3-pointers. It started when Andrew Funk nailed a shot with the shot clock expiring. Funk hit another trey on Penn State’s next possession. Myles Dread followed with a triple, and then, after a 2-point shot by Funk, Dread hit another 3 to make it 66-47 Penn State. Illinois responded with a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 12, but Penn State quickly pushed the lead back to 18.
Penn State doesn’t play in the Big Ten again until New Year’s Day when it plays Iowa in the Bryce Jordan Center. It’s next three games— against Canisius (Dec. 18), Quinnipiac (Dec. 22) and Delaware State (Dec. 29) are out of conference and at home. The Canisius game, scheduled for next Sunday, is set to tip-off at noon.
