Field Level Media
Nov 23, 2019
Penn State ended the game on a 12-0 run to rally from 16 points down in the second half to beat visiting Yale 58-56 on Saturday afternoon in State College, Pa.
Sophomore guard Myles Dread's 3-pointer with 56 seconds left gave the Nittany Lions (5-0) its first lead of the game, his shot coming 45 seconds after Curtis Jones drained a three. PSU had missed 22 of its first 25 shots from beyond the arc before that.
Yale sophomore guard Matthue Cotton missed a 3-point try with three seconds left, preventing the Bulldogs (3-3) from picking up their first win over a Big Ten school since 2002.
Penn State missed its first five shots to open each half, the second-half drought allowing Yale to up its 10-point halftime lead to 35-21 with 17:28 left. The Nittany Lions went on an 11-3 run to cut the deficit to six with 14:35 to go but then went scoreless for nearly six minutes as the Bulldogs extended their edge to 48-32.
Penn State missed nine consecutive shots before a jumper by sophomore guard Izaiah Brockington with 8:47 left. That triggered an 8-0 run to get within 48-40 but Yale drained 3-pointers on its next two possessions to regain momentum.
Yale led 56-46 with 3:54 left before the Lions made five of their next seven shots to go ahead.
Brockington had 15 points while Dread and senior forward Lamar Stevens had 13 points apiece for Penn State, with Stevens adding 13 rebounds. The Lions shot 33.3 percent overall and 18.5 percent from 3-point range after averaging 88.5 points on 50.2 percent shooting in their first four games.
Yale was led by junior guard Azar Swain's 21 points.
Saturday's game was a preliminary round matchup for the NIT Season Tip-Off. Penn State will face Ole Miss on Wednesday in Brooklyn, N.Y., while Yale takes on Western Michigan in Orlando, Fla., on Monday.
--Field Level Media