Cornell Big Red vs Penn St. Nittany Lions Match Player Stats On Nov 22, 2021

Seth Lundy and Sam Sessoms combined for 45 points and 11 3-pointers to fuel host Penn State to an 85-74 victory over Cornell on Monday evening at University Park, Pa.

Lundy made 5 of 8 3-pointers en route to a game-high 23 points for Penn State (3-1), which entered the game shooting only 30 percent from 3-point range. Sessoms had only attempted four 3-pointers in the first three games, making one, before erupting Monday to the tune of 6-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc for 22 points.

Cornell (4-1) did not shoot particularly well from the field (37.9 percent) or the 3-point line (9 of 32) in suffering its first loss of the season. Sarju Patel led the Big Red with 15 points, while Nazir Williams added 14 and Chris Manon pitched in with 12.

The score was close for most of the second half. The Nittany Lions began to take charge when Jalen Pickett and Sessoms made 3-pointers on consecutive trips to turn a 67-64 deficit into a 70-67 lead. Sessoms made another long-range shot less than a minute later, and Myles Dread drained one from beyond the arc to create a 76-71 advantage with 3:38 to play.

Pickett, who contributed 15 points, went 5 of 6 from the foul line in the final two minutes to help seal the win.

Penn State finished the first half with a 41-38 lead thanks in large part to eight 3-pointers, including a 4-for-4 effort from Sessoms.

The teams took turns controlling play during the opening 20 minutes.

The Nittany Lions jumped ahead 17-11 before the Big Red scored 16 straight points to go up by 10. Cornell led 34-27 with 3 1/2 minutes to play until Penn State closed the half on a 14-4 run, highlighted by all four of Sessoms' opening-half threes.

--Field Level Media