STATE COLLEGE — Jalen Pickett scored 23 points, Andrew Funk added 22 and Penn State opened the season with a school record 18 3-pointers and a 93-68 win over Winthrop on Monday.
Myles Dread added 12 points, and Seth Lundy had 10 for the Nittany Lions, who went 18 of 38 from 3-point range and shot 55% overall.
Picket hit 6 of 7 shots, half of them 3-pointers, and scored 15 points in the first half as the Nittany Lions took a 44-32 lead.
Starting with a 3-pointer from Funk, a Bucknell transfer, and ending with Camren Wynter’s three-point play, the Nittany Lions scored the first eight points of the second half to lead by 20. Lundy twice hit 3-pointers to make the lead 23, but Winthrop had a 12-2 run to get it within 13 with 8:53 to play.
Winthrop, which was 23-9 last season, went cold to close the game, missing 7 of 9 shots with five turnovers.
Kelton Talford scored 18 points, Toneari Lane 17 and Cory Hightown 15 for the Eagles.
