Jalen Pickett and Andrew Funk scored 20 points apiece as visiting Penn State smashed No. 17 Illinois 74-59 in Big Ten action on Saturday afternoon in Champaign, Ill.
The Nittany Lions (7-3, 1-1 Big Ten) shot 50.0 percent both from the field (27 of 54) and 3-point range (12 of 24) in a dominant effort against the Fighting Illini (7-3, 0-2), who were coming off an impressive win against No. 2 Texas.
Seth Lundy added 16 points and seven rebounds for Penn State, while Myles Dread chipped in 15 points. Pickett rounded out his strong performance with seven rebounds, six assists, two steals and a block.
Matthew Mayer led the Illini’s offensive attack with 14 points, while Skyy Clark notched 11 points and seven boards.
After leading by nine points at halftime, Penn State scored five in a row to start the second half, expanding its advantage to 52-38. However, Illinois answered with nine consecutive points, including two 3-pointers by Clark.
That is when the Nittany Lions’ 3-point shooters took over. Funk drained 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions, followed by a 3-pointer from Dread, to push the lead to 61-47. Funk tacked on a jumper and then Dread drained another shot from outside the arc as Penn State took a commanding 19-point lead.
The Nittany Lions then went more than four minutes without scoring, as the Illini whittled the deficit down to 12. However, Lundy stabilized his team with three free throws before Pickett’s layup and Funk’s 3-pointer stretched the lead back to 18.
Neither team led by more than five points in the first half until the Nittany Lions went on a 13-4 run to close the session.
Pickett’s three-point play put the visitors ahead by six for the first time before Lundy knocked down three foul shots to create a 45-36 advantage. Dain Dainja answered with a layup for Illinois, but Pickett converted a layup of his own in the waning seconds as Penn State took a 47-38 lead into the locker room.
Pickett led all scorers with 16 first-half points, while Lundy had 13 points in the opening 20 minutes.
–Field Level Media