Pickett scores 41 in victory
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UNIVERSITY PARK -- Jalen Pickett scored a season-high 41 points, the first Penn State player with 40-plus points since 1961, and the Nittany Lions beat Illinois, 93-81, on Tuesday night to end a four-game losing streak.
It was the most points scored by a Penn State player in Big Ten play and the sixth 40-point game in program history.
"I knew (Pickett) was going, but I did not know he was 41 points going,'' Penn State coach Micah Shrewsberry said. "That is what you need when you are struggling. You need someone to rise up and bring you out of it, and he did that. He is special.''
Pickett was 10-of-12 shooting with four 3-pointers in the first half, including reaching 2,000 career points on a 3 with 2:54 left. He finished 15 of 20 overall with five 3-pointers and had eight assists. He scored 46 points with Siena in a triple-overtime game against Quinnipiac on Feb. 17, 2019.
Seth Lundy had 11 points in the first half, hitting 4 of 5 shots with three 3s and finished with 15 points for Penn State (15-11, 6-9 Big Ten), which shot 58% overall and was 12 of 28 from distance. Kanye Clary added 12 points and Kanye Clary had 10.
"The last couple of days of practice, guys have really been locked in,'' Shrewsberry said. "We were a little on edge against Wisconsin (last week), and I put that on me. Our spirit was good. We didn't look like a team that had lost four in a row.''
Penn State shot 62.5% (20 of 32) from the floor and hit 10 of 18 from long range in the first half for a 53-40 lead. Illinois cut the deficit to 54-47 with 18:01 left but didn't get closer.
Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 20 points to lead five in double figures for Illinois (17-8, 8-6), which lost the season series with Penn State.
Illinois plays at No. 14 Indiana on Saturday while Penn State travels to Minnesota.
ILLINOIS (17-8): Dainja 3-6 3-3 9, Hawkins 5-12 0-0 12, Epps 6-13 0-0 12, Shannon 5-14 9-10 20, Mayer 3-6 3-5 11, Rodgers 5-6 1-2 11, Harris 0-1 0-0 0, Goode 1-2 0-0 3, Melendez 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 29-61 16-20 81.
PENN ST. (15-11): Njie 1-1 1-2 3, Funk 4-10 0-0 10, Pickett 15-20 6-6 41, Wynter 2-3 0-0 4, Lundy 5-10 2-3 15, Clary 4-8 3-4 12, Dread 1-3 0-0 3, Mahaffey 0-0 3-4 3, Henn 1-1 0-0 2, Brown 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 33-57 15-19 93.
Halftime--Penn St. 53-40. 3-Point Goals--Illinois 7-27 (Mayer 2-5, Hawkins 2-6, Melendez 1-1, Goode 1-2, Shannon 1-5, Harris 0-1, Epps 0-7), Penn St. 12-28 (Pickett 5-9, Lundy 3-6, Funk 2-6, Clary 1-2, Dread 1-3, Brown 0-1, Wynter 0-1). Fouled Out--Shannon. Rebounds--Illinois 30 (Rodgers 8), Penn St. 27 (Lundy 7). Assists--Illinois 13 (Shannon 4), Penn St. 13 (Pickett 8). Total Fouls--Illinois 17, Penn St. 16. A--7,297 (15,261).