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UNIVERSITY PARK -- The Penn State men's basketball team won its fourth-straight game, and closed out regular-season non-conference play with a 60-46 win over Delaware State Thursday afternoon at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Penn State, 10-3, will welcome Big Ten foe Iowa to the Jordan Center this Sunday for a 5:30 p.m. start on the Big Ten Network. Iowa is 8-5 after losing Thursday night at Nebraska.
On Thursday, the Nittany Lion defense held their opponent under 50 points for the first time this season. Penn State limited Delaware State to a 30.4 percent showing from the field.
Senior Seth Lundy returned to action following a one-game injury layoff and notched his second double-double of the season with a game-high 15 points and 10 rebounds. Andrew Funk chipped in 12 points, while Jalen Pickett added 10 points and six assists.
A trio of 3-pointers in the opening 4:21 helped Penn State take an early 13-5 lead. The Hornets (1-12) answered with the next eight points to knot the score at 13-13.
A Lundy 3-pointer and a layup from Michael Henn snapped the Delaware State streak before the Penn State defense took control to close out the first half, holding the Hornets to just four field goals in the final 13:27 and forcing eight DSU turnovers.
The Nittany Lions went cold after that, but the defensive effort helped Penn State take a 27-22 lead into halftime.
The Hornets got within three just over two minutes into the second half, but Penn State responded with a 7-0 run. The Nittany Lions held DSU scoreless for nearly five minutes to go up 39-29 with 13:48 to play.
Penn State's lead reached 13 at 44-31 following a Funk 3-pointer and a floater from Dallion Johnson, but DSU answered with back-to-back 3-pointers from O'Koye Parker to trim the Nittany Lion lead to 46-39 with 8:29 on the clock.
The Hornets didn't get closer than seven the rest of the way as DSU shot just 2-for-13 from the field for the remainder of the game.
DELAWARE ST. (1-12): K.Johnson 1-6 0-0 2, Stone 4-12 0-0 10, Muniz 2-7 0-0 5, Robinson 2-5 0-0 4, Staten 3-8 0-0 7, Perkins 1-5 2-2 5, Lemon-Warren 1-2 0-0 2, Somerville 0-5 0-2 0, Parker 3-6 2-2 11. Totals 17-56 4-6 46.
PENN STATE (10-3): Njie 2-3 2-3 6, Funk 4-10 0-0 12, Pickett 4-8 2-2 10, Wynter 1-7 0-0 2, Lundy 5-15 2-2 15, Dread 2-6 0-0 6, Henn 2-4 0-0 4, D.Johnson 1-5 0-0 2, Brown 0-1 0-0 0, Mahaffey 1-1 1-2 3, Clary 0-0 0-0 0, Lilley 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-60 7-9 60.
Halftime--Penn St. 27-22. 3-Point Goals--Delaware St. 8-21 (Parker 3-3, Stone 2-7, Perkins 1-1, Staten 1-4, Muniz 1-5, K.Johnson 0-1), Penn St. 9-36 (Funk 4-10, Lundy 3-11, Dread 2-6, Brown 0-1, Henn 0-1, Pickett 0-1, D.Johnson 0-2, Wynter 0-4). Rebounds--Delaware St. 34 (Robinson 11), Penn St. 36 (Lundy 10). Assists--Delaware St. 10 (Perkins 4), Penn St. 14 (Pickett 6). Total Fouls--Delaware St. 9, Penn St. 9. A--5,454 (15,261).