Rutgers Scarlet Knights vs Penn St. Nittany Lions Match Player Stats On Jan 11, 2022

Sam Sessoms scored 17 points as Penn State led almost from start to finish and added to Rutgers' road woes with a 66-49 victory Tuesday night in University Park, Pa.

John Harrar had 16 points and Jalen Pickett added 15 for the Nittany Lions (8-6, 3-3 Big Ten), who limited the Scarlet Knights to 19-for-56 (33.9 percent) shooting.

Sessoms dished out six assists, and teammate Greg Lee grabbed 12 rebounds.

Cliff Omoruyi scored 12 points, pulled down 12 rebounds and was the only double-figure scorer for Rutgers (9-6, 3-2), which dropped to 0-5 on the road this season. Leading scorer Ron Harper Jr., who was averaging 16.3 points per game, was limited to seven on 2-for-9 shooting.

Penn State led 27-19 at halftime and by nine early in the second half. Harper, who had been held to one basket until that point, drained a 3-pointer from the left side with 11:45 left in the game to cut Rutgers' deficit to 35-31.

Penn State's Seth Lundy (10 points) and Sessoms answered with back-to-back 3-pointers, and Harrar scored inside on a put-back to put the Nittany Lions in front 43-31 with 10:06 left.

Harper's steal and pass to Geo Baker for a trey plus a second-chance basket by Omoruyi brought Rutgers within 43-36. However, Sessoms made a pass to Harrar for an easy basket, and shots by Lee and Jevonnie Scott increased Penn State's advantage to 49-36 with 7:05 to go. Rutgers didn't get closer than 10 after that.

Penn State never trailed, and the game was last tied at 4. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Sessoms and Pickett increased the Nittany Lions' lead to 18-6 with 10:25 left in the first half.

After Jalen Miller made a basket in the paint for the visitors, Lundy's trey from the left corner gave the Nittany Lions a 21-8 lead.

The Scarlet Knights responded by going on an extended 11-2 run to trim the Nittany Lions' lead to 23-19 on Oskar Palmquist's 3-pointer from the right side with 2:05 left in the half. But a jumper by Pickett and a contested drive by Sessoms enabled Penn State to take a 27-19 lead into intermission.

--Field Level Media