Jalen Pickett, on a March Mission, Hoists Penn State Over Ohio State
In a tenuous spot on a must-have night, Jalen Pickett loaded Penn State on his shoulders once more. With a minute left and the Lions leading by one, Pickett backed Ohio State's Brice Sensabaugh into the paint, whipped a step around him, drove the basket, and drew the foul.
Then he flexed.
For the third straight must-win game, Pickett kept the Lions in the NCAA Tournament hunt by hoisting them to a 75-71 victory over the Buckeyes. Penn State (17-11, 8-9 Big Ten) has its first three-game conference win streak of the season, which comes at the right time. And Pickett is willing this team into March.
The senior point guard, winner of multiple national player-of-the-week awards, scored Penn State's last 14 points over the final 7:15. In that stretch he made two lead-changing baskets, quieted a surging crowd with a 3-pointer and delivered that knockout 3-point play in the final minute.
Pickett finished with a game-high 23 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists, a performance made all the more memorable by his first-half absence. Hit with two early fouls, Pickett played for just 9 first-half minutes, scoring two points and taking just three shots.
But he was unstoppable in the second. Pickett went 7-for-8 from the field, making both of his 3-pointers, and scored 21 points in 19 minutes. For good measure, he finished the game with two foul shots, as the Buckeyes applied a late, lamentable double team on the All-American.
"He’s trying to will us every single game to something," Penn State coach Micah Shrewsberry told reporters in Columbus after the game. "... When you've got a guy like that, you ride him as long as you can."
Following his 73-point, two-game run last week, Pickett was bound to slow the boil. Shrewsberry didn't think Pickett played particularly well in the first half before collecting his second foul. But as the Lions' stress mounted, Pickett proved why he's having one of the best seasons in school history.
Of course, the Lions needed complementary playmaking to back-fill Pickett's first-half absence. Seth Lundy and Camren Wynter delivered, combining to go 6-for-9 to keep the Lions apace with Ohio State's hot-shooting freshmen.
Lundy scored 14 of his 19 points in the first half, when Wynter had 11 of his 18. As a result, the Lions went to halftime tied at 37 instead of trailing by double digits.
After winning back-to-back Big Ten road games for the first time since 2021, Penn State returns home to face Rutgers on Sunday. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Noteworthy
- Penn State broke the single-season 3-point record with a Wynter basket in the first half. The Lions have topped 300 3-pointers for the first time in school history (303 and counting).
- Shrewsberry said after the game that 6-10 freshman forward Kebba Njie played less in the second half because he was hurt.
- The Lions shot 52.6 percent (10-for-19) from 3-point range.
- Lundy has scored in double figures in 24 of his 27 games.
- Andrew Funk, who began the game with a Big Ten-best 82 3-pointers, did not attempt one for the first time this season.
- Wynter made a season-high four 3-pointers.
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AllPennState is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on Twitter @MarkWogenrich. And consider subscribing (button's on the home page) for more great content across the SI.com network.
