City of Basketball Love

Marley Paul (@MarleyPaul22)
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Penn State’s defense looked relatively competent in its first two games of the season, holding its opponents to 65 points per game. For the second game in a row, the Nittany Lions were shot out the gym by their opposition, most recently Tuesday with a 84-69 loss at the Bryce Jordan Center to Radford, which shot 12 of 22 from 3-point range.

At First...
Both teams struggled find its shot early, but Radford found some rhythm first to put together a 13-3 run and take a 24-14 lead, shooting 6 of 12 from distance, while Penn State failed to match that efficiency, going 1 of 8 from 3-point range through the first 15 minutes. The Nittany Lions, however, would cut the lead to 37-34 at the half, with a strong bench contribution from Devin Foster, who scored seven points on 3 of 3 shooting. 

Turning Point...
Another run would see Radford extend its lead to 70-59 midway through the second half. Penn State had been able to cut into the lead through most of the night, but the Nittany Lions couldn’t close the gap much further after conceding momentum at this moment in the game.

Standout Stars...
Julian Moore has looked good in short moments through the first three games for Penn State this season. Chambers finally made the move to insert Moore into the starting lineup over senior center Jordan Dickerson and the redshirt sophomore rewarded his coach with a career-best 16 point performance, while adding three rebounds, a block and a steal. 

Noteworthy Numbers...
Penn State finished with 13 assists Tuesday, with Shep Garner dishing a career-high eight assists. The Nittany Lions came into the contest with 22 total assists (7.3 per game), so the coach Chambers will welcome his team turning passes into buckets as the team continues to look to build chemistry. 

Up Next...
Penn State (2-2) vs. Bucknell (3-1) (Nov. 28)
Radford (4-2) vs James Madison (2-3) (Nov. 30)