Written by Jarrod Pulgar
for the mirror
UNIVERSITY PARK — Penn State scored the first seven points of the game and never looked back as the Nittany Lions defeated St. Francis 83-53 on Tuesday night at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Penn State outscored the Red Flash 46-18 in the first half for its third straight win. The Nittany Lions were able to find the scoreboard early, often with nine players finding the scoreboard before intermission.
“Everywhere we’ve gone, we’ve talked about building an army,” Penn State coach Mike Rhodes said. “Let’s clearly build an army. An army is everyone supporting each other, and the other day was Kanye[Clary’s]day. Today was Demetrius[Lily’s]day.”
When the dust settled, four Nittany Lions players scored in double figures despite a second half in which the Red Flash held Penn State’s offense to just 34.3 percent shooting.
“I thought we won in the second half, and I don’t like to single out one person in team sports, but I think Bobby Rosenberger gave us a big boost,” St. Francis coach Rob Krimmel said. he said.
Rosenberger paced the Red Flash with 19 points and eight rebounds in his fourth career game.
“He’s a young guy who really struggled in the first three games and was very hard on himself. To see him come out and impact the game, not necessarily with jump shots, but how hard he rebounded, It was amazing,” Krimmel said. .
Rosenberger’s hard play was no match for Clary and the dynamic Penn State defense, holding the Red Flash to 35 percent shooting on the night.
“I think he’s a good player, but he’s going to continue to move up, up, up,” Rose said of Clary. “A year from now, two years from now, he’s going to be very dynamic.”
Clary finished the night with 14 points, and Zach Hicks and Qudus Wahab each had 12 points. Ace Baldwin Jr. scored 11 points for the Nittany Lions, improving to 3-0.
puff is here
It was a comfortable win night for Penn State, but the best news for the Nittany Lions on Tuesday was the debut of Puff Johnson, a transfer from North Carolina State.
Johnson played 16 minutes in his first appearance of the season, scoring six points and grabbing four rebounds. He may not have lit up the score sheet, but his impact was felt at Penn State in a variety of ways.
“It was really great to have him there. He’s a high IQ guy. He plays really hard. He’s physical,” Rose said. “He’s always around the ball, but he can also shoot the ball a little bit on the floor. He has the patience to get into the perfect help position, whether it’s on the pitch or on defense. He’s a vet.”
find consistency
St. Francis has struggled to find any semblance of consistency through the first four games of the season, and for good reason, having faced stiff competition not only from the Nittany Lions but also from UCLA and San Francisco. .
For Krimmel, the focus is on helping the Red Flash continue to improve his consistency and gain confidence on the court.
“We’ll go through the first 30 practices, have a couple scrimmages or something, then play some games,” Krimmel said. “The first week I had a travel schedule and didn’t really have a chance to do any serious practice, so I’m really looking forward to getting back in the gym and fixing what I’ve been seeing so far in the game.” It’s a different matter to make corrections in practice when you’re playing against someone who’s on their period, but now I can go out and show it in a game. You get to spaces where you need to screen a little better, you need to cut a little harder, you need to do that. Movies are the best teachers. ”
Return to Jaffa
St. Francis returns to practice tonight, but it won’t be Loretto. The Red Flash returns to the Jaffa Basilica in Altoona, the place they called home over 50 years ago.
The practice is open to the public and will be held from 6 to 8 p.m.
next
The Nittany Lions host Morehead State on Friday night, and St. Francis hosts Pitt-Greensburg next Monday.
ST. Francis (0-4): Liberis 2-6 0-0 4, Webb 0-0 0-0 0, Gregory 2-10 0-0 6, Moncrief 0-4 3-4 3, Sanon 2-7 0-0 4, Wilborn 3-8 0-0 6, Rosenberger 7-10 2-2 19, Talbert 0-4 0-0 0, Lopez 2-5 0-0 4, Harris 2-3 0-0 4, Humphrey 1- 2 1-2 3, Blue 0-1 0-0 0. Total 21-60 6-8 53.
Penn State (3-0): Hicks 4-10 1-1 12, Wahab 4-5 4-4 12, Baldwin 4-9 2-2 11, Clary 6-12 0-0 14, Kern 2-6 2 – 2 6, Dunn 3-7 1-2 7, Johnson 2-4 1-3 6, O’Boyle 1-5 2-2 4, Mitchell 0-3 3-4 3, Lilly 3-3 2-3 8, Brown 0-0 0-0 0, Gutmundsson 0-2 0-0 0, Christos 0-0 0-0 0, Conlan 0-0 0-0 0. Total 29-66 18-23 83.
Halftime – Penn St. 46-18. 3 Point Goals – St. Francis 5-19 (Rosenberger 3-5, Gregory 2-4, Blue 0-1, Harris 0-1, Humphrey 0-1, Moncrief 0-1, Wilborn 0-1, Sanon 0 -2, Lopez 0-3), Penn State 7-28 (Hicks 3-8, Clary 2-6, Johnson 1-2, Baldwin 1-4, Dunn 0-1, Gudmundsson 0-1, Kahn 0-1 , Mitchell 0-2, O’Boyle 0-3). Rebounds – St. Francis 37 (Rosenberger 8), Penn State 36 (Wahab 6). Assists – St. Francis 13 (Sanon 4), Penn State 12 (Baldwin 4). Total Fouls – St. Francis 20, Penn St. 15, A-7,546.