After its lowest-scoring game of the season, Penn State has responded with back-to-back 90-point performances.
The Nittany Lions hope to continue their offensive surge Tuesday when they host Campbell in nonconference action from University Park, Pa.
Penn State (7-1) was held to 65 points in a 12-point setback to Providence on Nov. 22, but the team didn’t let the loss linger. The Nittany Lions have bounced back to top Boston University and Sacred Heart, scoring 93 points per game in the two victories.
In Saturday’s 90-59 rout of Sacred Heart, Ivan Juric led the way with 14 points and nine rebounds. Kayden Mingo added 13 points to go with a program record-tying eight steals. Overall, Penn State shot 54.2% from the field and 43.8% from 3-point land.
“Great team win,” Nittany Lions coach Mike Rhoades said. “Onward. We’ve got to get better. A long way to go.”
Campbell (3-4) has played a challenging schedule to this point, but the results have not been great. The team has lost lopsided contests against Wisconsin (96-64) and Wake Forest (99-51), although its battle against West Virginia (73-65) was much more respectable.
“We’ve been trying to challenge ourselves in the nonconference,” Campbell first-year coach John Andrzejek said.
The Fighting Camels have not played in a week since their loss to the Demon Deacons. They shot just 27.1% from the floor in that game, including 4-of-26 from 3-point range. Defense also was an issue for Campbell, which allowed Wake Forest to shoot 54.8% from the floor and 41.4% from long range.
DJ Smith leads Campbell in scoring at 19.6 points, while Dovydas Butka chips in with 14.9 points and 8.7 boards. That duo will certainly be a focus of the defensive game plan for the Nittany Lions, who will begin their Big Ten slate after facing the Camels.
“We have a good team here on Tuesday that’s very well-coached, so we’ve got to be ready for that,” Rhoades said. “We don’t have to look ahead. This team can’t look ahead.”
