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Penn State Basketball

Maryland Wears Down Penn State in 74-68 Win

Penn State Nittany Lions guard Camren Wynter (11) January 21, 2023 David Hague/NSN

Hakeem Hart scored a game-high 23 points as Maryland sent Penn State to its fourth consecutive loss as it defeated Penn State 74-68 at the Xfinity Arena on Saturday afternoon.  

After Seth Lundy made a three-pointer after Penn State (14-11, 5-9 Big Ten) turned the ball over in its first two possessions, Penn state missed its next eight shots until Miles Dread made a three-pointer. Maryland (17-8, overall, 8-6 Big Ten) jumped off to a five-point lead at 11-6 to start the game. Penn State remained in the game by playing solid defense that it didn’t show in its last few games. Penn State continued to struggle from the field as Maryland started to slowly stretch out its lead Penn State continued to turn the ball over on top of not shooting well. Penn State did not score a two-point field goal until Kanye Clary got a steal and a layup with 6:25 in the first half. Penn State stayed competitive by playing defense, but Maryland has played better defense by denying Jalen Pickett from going in the lane. Penn State has started to claw back in the game by making shots with a layup from Clary and a three from Andrew Funk. Penn State tied the game with a three-pointer by Lundy towards the end of the first half and Jahmir Young answered with a three-pointer of his own to make it 29-26 towards the end of the first half.

Maryland led Penn State 31-28 at the end of the first half. The key stat is Penn State committed ten turnovers in the first half. Penn State was 6 for 11 in the first half in the first half.

Early in the second half Penn State finally took the lead briefly on a Pickett three-pointer at 35-32, but Maryland went on a 9-0 run. Penn State answered with a three-pointer by Funk. The defenses started to buckle down and take over as the second half progressed. Maryland, however, maintained its lead as Maryland continued to go the free throw line. Miles Dread tied the game at 47 when he hit a three-pointer with ten minutes left, but Maryland responded with buckets by Donta Scott and Young. Maryland made its next six shots to increase its lead by pounding the ball in the paint as they started to pull away from Penn State as Penn State started to wear down.

Pickett and Clary scored 15 points each to lead Penn State, followed by Funk with 14 points, and Dread scored 11 before fouling out.

Young scored 17 points, and Julian Reese scored 11 points for Maryland.

With the loss, Penn State will most likely have to win the Big Ten Tournament to get into the NCAA tournament, and with the schedule ahead, they may have to win a few games to even get into the NIT tournament.

Penn State will return to the Bryce Jordan Center to host Illinois on Tuesday, while Maryland will host top-ranked Purdue on Thursday night.

Twitter: @bwalkerdadon

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