Lundy scores 23, Penn State wins in Shrewsberry's debut

Nov 11, 2021, 05:12 am

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- — Seth Lundy scored 23 points, Sam Sessoms scored 17, and John Harrar added 16 points as Penn State defeated Youngstown State 75-59 on Wednesday night, giving Micah Shrewsberry his first victory as a head coach.

The Nittany Lions won their season opener, pulling away from the Penguins late in the first half and keeping the pressure up after halftime. Penn State led 26-23 with 5:55 remaining in the first half before Jaheam Cornwall hit a 3-pointer and the Nittany Lions quickly pushed the lead to 10 points.

After leading 35-26 at halftime, Lundy opened the second half scoring with a 3-pointer and the lead reached 16 a few minutes later when he hit another trey. Lundy finished 3 of 5 on 3-pointers.

Youngstown State closed to within six points, 57-51, with on a 3-pointer by Michael Akuchie with 7:46 remaining, but the Penguins managed just eight points the rest of the way. Akuchie led Youngstown with 22 points and 10 rebounds.

Sessoms had eight assists to go with his 17 points and Harrar completed a double-double by grabbing 14 rebounds.

Shrewsberry, in his first head-coaching job, came to Penn State from Purdue where he had been associate head coach. Prior to that, he was a six-year assistant with the Boston Celtics of the NBA. Shrewsberry is tasked with moving the Nittany Lions forward after a dismal 2020-21 season under interim coach Jim Ferry, who stepped in after longtime coach Patrick Chambers resigned prior to that season. Chambers was being investigated by the school in regard to his past conduct with players.