Pickett, Funk lead Penn State past Canisius 97-67
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (AP) — Jalen Pickett scored 16 points, Andrew Funk added 15 Penn State played a strong defense in the second quarter to beat Canisius 97 to67 on Sunday.
Pickett scored 13 points, while the Nittany Lions shot 56% during the first half. However, the Golden Griffins continued to pace themselves and made five 3-pointers for Penn State. They also shot 50% to trail at 42-36.
The second half was an entirely different story.
Kebba Njie started and ended a 9-0 run with dunks For a 15 point advantage, the team opened the second half with a 3 pointer. Funk scored a 3-pointer during that stretch and, after Canisius had made two free throws, Funk hit consecutive 3s to begin a 13-0 run. Just five minutes into the second period, the lead was at 64-38. Camryn Wynter added a third dunk to Njie’s surge, and Camryn Wynter completed the feat with a 3.
Penn State won 9 out of 12 within five minutes of intermission. Canisius missed six of its first six shots, and had four turnovers.
Canisius made an 11-3 spurt to reach 18 at the 12-minute mark, but then missed seven straight shots. At the 16-minute mark, the Nittany Lions were leading by 16-1. With eight minutes left, Jamel Brown and Myles Dread made back-to-back 3-pointers that made it 83-50.
Penn State’s Seth Lundy scored all of his points in halftime (8-3), while Funk was 5 for 5, long-distance, for all his points. Pickett had nine assist and Njie eight rebounds.
The Nittany Lions were 13 out of 22 behind the arc, shooting 58% overall with 22 assists, and three turnovers.
Jordan Henderson scored 14 points, and Jacco Fritz 13 for the Golden Griffins (2-8), which shot 30% in second half. They also had nine of their 13 turnovers.
Penn State will host Quinnipiac and Penn State on Thursday. On Jan. 1, Big Ten play will resume with an Iowa visit.
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