Seth Lundy scored 23 points and Penn State began the Micah Shrewsberry era by pulling away down the stretch for a 75-59 victory over Youngstown State on Wednesday night in University Park, Pa.
Shrewsberry was hired after Jim Ferry finished out an 11-14 campaign following the resignation of Patrick Chambers due to an investigation into his past conduct. Shrewsberry took the job after being an assistant coach for Purdue the previous two seasons, having earlier worked with Brad Stevens at Butler and with the Boston Celtics.
Lundy, who averaged 10.1 points last season, made 9 of 15 shots and hit three 3-pointers for Penn State. The Nittany Lions shot 51.7 percent from the floor and made 6 of 20 3-point attempts.
Sam Sessoms supported Lundy with a solid all-around performance. He added 17 points on 8-of-16 shooting to go along with eight assists, five rebounds and two steals.
John Harrar added a double-double with 16 points and a career-high tying 14 rebounds as Penn State outrebounded Youngstown State by a 43-25 margin.
Michael Akuchie led Youngstown State (0-1) with 22 points and 10 rebounds. He made 9 of 18 shots, but the Penguins shot 39.3 percent and missed nine consecutive shots after getting within six midway through the second half.
Youngstown State held a 21-17 lead after a 3-pointer by Chris Shelton with 10:58 remaining in the first half. The Nittany Lions took the lead for good when a free throw by Sessoms snapped a 21-21 tie with 8:30 remaining.
Penn State outscored Youngstown State 14-5 to end the first half and held a 35-26 lead by intermission. The Nittany Lions expanded their lead to 45-30 on a layup by Sessoms a little over three minutes into the second half.
Youngstown State made one more charge and was within 59-53 when Garrett Covington sank two free throws with 7:12 remaining. Penn State ripped off 12 straight points and opened a 71-53 lead on a reverse layup by Sessoms with 4:06 left.
--Field Level Media
Youngstown St. | Penn St. | |
Michael Akuchie 22 | Scoring | Seth Lundy 23 |
Luke Chichone 2 | Assists | Sam Sessoms 8 |
Michael Akuchie 10 | Rebounds | John Harrar 14 |
Shemar Rathan-Mayes 3 | Free Throws Made | John Harrar 2 |
Dwayne Cohill 2 | Steals | Sam Sessoms 2 |
Dwayne Cohill 1 | Blocks | Jalen Pickett 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Youngstown St. | 59 | 39.3 | 10-24 | 5-10 | 8 | 24 | 1 | 5 | 8 |
Penn St. | 75 | 51.7 | 6-20 | 7-11 | 16 | 39 | 1 | 3 | 10 |