Game Grades: Georgetown
Penn State defeated Georgetown on Thursday night by a final score of 81-66 to improve to 3-0 on the season. It was the first road test of the year for the Nittany Lions, as they were underdogs coming into Capital One Arena. Let’s hand out some grades for a big win early on in the season.
Offense: B
Sophomore guard Myreon Jones was hot early for the Nittany Lions, as he scored 14 of the first 16 points. Jones finished with a career-high 21 points on 6-of-13 shooting, including 5-for-8 from beyond the arc, and was 4-for-4 from the free-throw line. Lamar Stevens struggled in the first half, as he was 1-for-7 from the field and had just four points. Stevens would come alive in the second half and finish with 14 points, nine rebounds and three assists. Myles Dread also pitched in 14 points and was 4 of 11 from 3-point range.
Penn State shot 44% as a team and was 45% from behind the arc. The Nittany Lions also shot a pretty decent 71% from the free-throw line. As the season goes on, they'll look to improve on that number, especially on the road in close games if they want to win.
Penn State struggled against Georgetown’s press. The Nittany Lions had 20 turnovers in the game due to sloppy play in transition and poor passing. Out of those 20, Stevens uncharacteristically had six. Penn State will need to clean up its turnover issues before taking on tougher Big Ten opponents.
Defense: A-
The defense was solid all night for Penn State. The active hands on defense led the Nittany Lions to force Georgetown into tough passing situations, which led to 21 turnovers for the Hoyas. A couple of players like Jamari Wheeler and Mike Watkins had standout nights on this side of the ball. Wheeler had four steals in the game, and Watkins recorded four blocks. Lamar Stevens also had a good defensive effort, as he had four steals and block of his own. As a team, the Nittany Lions had 15 steals and five blocks in total.
The Nittany Lions also shut down Georgetown sophomore guard Mac McClung, who had just two points on 1-of-7 shooting and three turnovers. As a team, the Hoyas shot just 38% from the field and 31% from 3-point range, thanks to the strong defensive effort by the Nittany Lions.
With McClung largely erased from the game, the Hoyas only had two players in double figures, as James Akinjo had 13 points and Omer Yurtseven had 16. No other Hoya had more than eight points.
Coaching: A-
Pat Chambers had his team ready to play early, as the energy on both sides of the courts was evident. The hot start eventually faded as Georgetown went on a run late in the first half, but Chambers subbed in Izaiah Brockington, Curtis Jones and John Harrar to relieve some starters, giving the Nittany Lions a new motor. Chambers made good substitutions through the entire game and balanced the lineup well.
Chambers also called timeouts when necessary during multiple Georgetown runs. Penn State responded after each timeout and regained comfortable leads multiple times throughout the game to hold on to a big road victory.
Andrew Field is a junior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email aaf5329@psu.edu.
