Myles Dread’s last second three-pointer lifted Penn State over VCU on Wednesday night at the Bryce Jordan Center as the Nittany Lions improved to 2-0 on the year and under interim head coach Jim Ferry.
“That last possession really showed who we are as a team,” Ferry said. “I don’t mean it was just like we just drew it up, I meant it more as how much these guys trust each other, how much these guys love each other. They played for each other, which I thought showed in that last possession. Everybody touched it, the extra pass. Myles was having a tough night, hadn’t made a shot, and still Jamari wasn’t hesitant to throw an extra pass and Myles wasn’t hesitant to let it go. I thought our guys played really, really hard.’
‘Obviously, it was early, some sloppy basketball. I think they are focused on the right things, focused on each other, and focused on getting better every day. That was a good win for us, especially this early in the season, against a very,very good VCU team.”
For Dread, this was his third game-winning shot in the past year, knocking off Rutgers, Yale and now VCU, all with late threes over the course of the past 12 months.
In an interesting twist, all three of Dread’s winners have come on otherwise cold shooting nights. On Wednesday the junior was 0-for-4 from the field, his first and only make the buzzer-beating winner. Against Yale and Rutgers he was equally as cold. In total, Dread had shot a combined 5-of-21 from the field before the those three crucial makes.
Just keep shooting.
Of course Penn State wouldn’t have needed such heroics had the Nittany Lions not given up a 13-5 run in the game’s final five minutes. A 64-56 margin seemingly enough to hold off VCU. Penn State led 35-32 at the half, but occasional spurts never gave the impression that the Nittany Lions were in danger of actually losing. And yet as VCU charged, the Nittany Lions folded, watching their relatively comfortable lead shrink in the process.
In spite of the late struggles and rust-related shortcomings, Penn State otherwise looked an increasingly competent team after nearly 300 days off. Seth Lundy appears more than ready to ride the strong finish to his freshman campaign, scoring 32 points on a highly efficient 11-of-19 shooting while picking up two blocks in the process. Newcomer transfer guard Sam Sessoms also continues to impress, rolling in 17 points and looking confident while running the point in the relief role for Jamari Wheeler.
‘I thought we handled the pressure fantastic today, because we had multiple guys who can handle the basketball and are very unselfish,’ Ferry said. ‘I knew we were built to play against this team.’
Wheeler had a fairly quiet night scoring but pulled down eight rebounds while dishing out six assists. Myreon Jones started off strong offensively with six quick points but did more of his work on the defensive end with four steals. Penn State’s interior defense may prove problematic in the long run, but John Harrar grabbed five points and eight rebounds while Trent Buttrick pulled down five more as his minutes continue to increase.
All things considered it says something about a Penn State team that lost its head coach a month before the season and two of its most important teammates in Lamar Stevens and Mike Watkins, the later in attendance on Wednesday, and still manage to take punches en route to victory. A trait not often frequenting Nittany Lion teams of the past. The depth of the Big Ten may prove a large hurdle for the Nittany Lions moving forward, but in a year where continuity is key, Penn State does not appear to have lost its perseverance.
Even while Penn State showed flashes, the Nittany Lions will know they were lucky to avoid overtime. But with a tougher road ahead and a long and dramatic road behind them, Penn State will take all the wins it can get.
And all the Myles Dread winners.
‘I think we’re a team that wins by committee,’ Ferry said. ‘I think we’re a team that’s really balanced. I think it could be a different guy each night.’
