After a competitive first half, Penn Stateโs (PSU) defense wore down visiting Saint Francis (SFU) into 24 turnovers in Penn Stateโs 92-62 win.ย
Puff Johnson led all scorers with 20 points on an efficient 7-for-8 and three 3โs. Ace Baldwin finished with 16 points, six assists and three steals. Yanic Konan Niederhauser scored nine of his 11 points in the second and tagged on seven rebounds and a block. DโMarco Dunn continued his bench production with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting.ย
Bobby Rosenberger III led Saint Francis with 14 points, followed by Daemar Kelly (10) and Valentino Pinedoโs (11) combined 21.ย
Overall, PSU shot 49 percent while holding SFU to 37 percent from the field. Penn State did a majority of its damage off turnovers (29 points off) and in the paint (46 points).ย
Penn State started hot, immediately going on an 11-0 run, making its first four shots in the opening two minutes.ย
PSU would cool off though, going 3-for-9 over the next seven minutes. Then, with Niederhauser being forced to the bench with two fouls at the 15:47 mark, the door opened for SFU to go on a run.ย
After trailing by 11 early on, Saint Francis outscored Penn State 34-22 over the next 15 minutes and took a 34-33 lead on a Daemar Kelly jump shot. The Red Flash started 0-4 over the first five minutes, but to finish the half it went 13-of-26.ย
Immediately after sacrificing the lead to the visitors, Johnson hit a 3 and then got a steal and went coast to coast for an and-one finish for a quick six points.ย
Penn State went on to close the half on a 12-4 run, capitalized by a turnover turning into one made free throw for Dominick Stewart.ย
To start the second, both teams traded blows. Penn State gained a 10-point advantage (59-49) off a Johnson 3. Over about the next nine minutes, Penn State grew its lead to 26 using defense.ย
PSU maintained its double-digit lead for the rest of the game, forcing Saint Francis into 12 second-half turnovers and 31 percent shooting from the field.ย
Penn State will face Virginia Tech in the Hall of Fame Series on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at CFG Bank Arena.
