Bostick, Wheeler, Penn State rout Oral Roberts 86-48

Nov 24, 2017, 11:59 pm

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Nazeer Bostick and Jamari Wheeler scored 14 points apiece and Penn State beat Oral Roberts 86-48 on Friday.

Tony Carr added 13 points and Josh Reaves chipped in all 10 of his in the first half for the Nittany Lions (6-1), who remained hot at home with a 5-0 start, and bounced back from an 11-point loss to No. 16 Texas A&M on Tuesday night in the Progressive Legends Classic championship game.

"I wanted to see how we responded and I think they did a really good job," Penn State coach Patrick Chambers said. "Leadership was there, discipline was there."

Emmanuel Nzekwesi led the Golden Eagles (1-5) with 11 points while Jontray Harris added nine.

Penn State never trailed and led 38-19 at halftime. The Nittany Lions built on that quickly, opening the second half with a 27-9 run for a 65-28 lead midway through the second half. Carr scored seven points, Garner made a pair of 3-pointers, and Mike Watkins ended the surge with a dunk -- the third dunk during the stretch.

THE BIG PICTURE

Oral Roberts: On the bright side, the Golden Eagles have a ways to go to equal last year's 1-8 start. And before Friday's rout, they had come closer to that elusive second win in two-possession games against Montana and Pepperdine.

Penn State: The Nittany Lions continue to get contributions from most of the roster. Five players -- Tony Carr, Shep Garner, Lamar Stevens, Josh Reaves and Mike Watkins -- entered the game averaging in double-figure scoring. Jamari Wheeler showed he can bring speed and even more scoring depth to the lineup.

BLOCKS AND STEALS

Penn State racked up 14 steals and forced 18 turnovers against Oral Roberts. Jamari Wheeler had five steals and Josh Reaves had four against the Golden Eagles. ... The Nittany Lions entered the game third in the nation in total steals with 63. ... The Nittany Lions blocked seven Oral Roberts' shots, led by Mike Watkins with three. Watkins moved to No. 4 all-time in program history with 111 blocks. He surpassed Jan Jagla (2002-04), who had 110 career blocked shots.

UP NEXT

Oral Roberts hosts Oakland on Monday.

Penn State travels to NC State on Wednesday.