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UNIVERSITY PARK -- The Penn State men's basketball team earned a hard-fought 68-62 win over Butler in the Gavitt Tipoff Games to move to 3-0 on the season Monday night at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Senior guard Jalen Pickett recorded just the second triple-double in Penn State history, finishing with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists.
It marks the first triple-double for a Nittany Lion since all-time great Calvin Booth had 19 points, 10 rebounds and 10 blocks in the NIT at Dayton on March 16, 1998.
Penn State's defense set the tone for the victory as the Nittany Lions held Butler to a 34.3 percent (23-for-67) mark from the field and 21.7 percent (5-for-23) clip from 3-point range. The Nittany Lions out-rebounded the Bulldogs 40-36 and held a 30-24 edge in points in the paint.
Pickett led the Nittany Lions offensively, while senior guards Andrew Funk and Camren Wynter added 11 points apiece and Seth Lundy chipped in 10.
A 3-for-4 clip from 3-point range helped Penn State race out to a quick 15-4 lead seven minutes into the game.
The Bulldogs answered with a 20-14 streak as Penn State went a bit cold and Butler trimmed the Nittany Lion advantage down to five at 29-24 with 2:12 left in the first half. Penn State scored four of the opening term's final six points as a put-back jumper from Wynter at the buzzer gave the Nittany Lions a 33-26 edge heading into the locker room.
The Bulldogs started the second half 5-for-7 from the field to quickly tie the game at 38 less than five minutes into the term.
The lead changed four times in the next 3:22, with neither team leading by more than two until Funk drained his third trey of the game to put the Nittany Lions up 48-44 at the 10:27 mark of the half.
Penn State exploded on a 17-2 run over the next 5:11, going 7-for-9 from the field including a 3-for-4 effort from beyond the arc with makes by Pickett, Funk and Myles Dread.
The Nittany Lions are back at it on Thursday against Furman in the Charleston Classic.