In his first season as Penn State’s coach, Micah Shrewsberry sees the current campaign as more of a marathon than a sprint.
The Nittany Lions look to battle through some recent issues Monday when they host Cornell at University Park, Pa.
Off the court, Penn State (2-1) has been dealing with a non-COVID illness, in addition to waiting for a couple of transfers due to injury and NCAA-related issues.
On the court, the Nittany Lions rebounded from a poor performance in a Nov. 15 loss to Massachusetts with a 74-59 win over St. Francis (Brooklyn) on Thursday.
“You have to find a way to win anyway, and this is putting guys in different situations to do that,” Shrewsberry said of the uncertainty with the roster. “It is a great learning experience for the next time we step out here. Hopefully, each game we’re better, and hopefully from November to December we grow, December to January, January to February, February to March. We want to be able to be a finished product then, not now.”
Sam Sessoms led Penn State with 26 points on 10-of-13 shooting versus the Terriers and is averaging a team-high 18.3 points this season. Seth Lundy (16.0 points per game) and John Harrar (12.7 points and 13.0 rebounds per game) are other key players for the Nittany Lions, who have blocked only one shot through the first three games.
Meanwhile, Cornell is 4-0 for the first time since 1961 after Friday’s resounding 107-48 win over Division III foe Wells College.
“It’s been great. Our guys are really excited to bring that energy every night and that’s something we need with the way we’re playing,” coach Brian Earl said earlier in the week.
Jordan Jones (16.0 points per game) has led or tied for the team lead in scoring in all four games so far. He is one of two double-digit scorers on the Big Red, along with Chris Manon (13.0).
Penn State holds a 7-5 edge in the all-time series and has not lost to Cornell since Dec. 5, 1972.
–Field Level Media
