Stevens’ big second half propels Penn State over Bucknell

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Lamar Stevens scored 21 of his 27 points in the second half and Penn State pulled away from Bucknell 98-70 on Tuesday.

Mike Watkins added 18 points, Myles Dread 12 and Jamari Wheeler 10 for the Nittany Lions (4-0), who only led by three at halftime.

Andrew Funk scored 15 points while Bruce Moore notched 14 and Paul Newman and Jimmy Sotos added 10 apiece for the Bison (2-3) who trailed for all but 2:32.

Bucknell led 8-7 early but the Nittany Lions used a 17-5 run to take an 11-point lead midway through the first half. The Bison slowly chipped away at that, however with major help from Funk who made eight of Bucknell’s final 13 points to cut Penn State’s halftime lead to 45-42.

But Stevens opened the second half with 8-straight points and 15 of Penn State’s first 30. The Nittany Lions, who made 60% of their field goals on 39-for-65 shooting, went up by 20 when Myron Jones drained a jumper with 11:54 left and never looked back.

THE BIG PICTURE

Bucknell: The Bison are looking to win at least a portion of the Patriot League championship for the fifth-straight season under coach Nathan Davis. They appear to have the pieces to do so despite being run ragged by Penn State’s unrelenting transition game in the second half.

Penn State: The Nittany Lions will now try for just their second 5-0 start in nine seasons with coach Patrick Chambers at the helm. The last time a Chambers-coached team started 5-0 was two seasons ago when the Nittany Lions won the NIT. This team has loftier goals, however.

UP NEXT

Bucknell visits Syracuse on Saturday.

Penn State hosts Yale on Saturday.

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