Penn State advances to 4-0 at home with win over Morehead State

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Mike Rhoades era in Happy Valley continued its hot start on Friday night with their fourth consecutive home victory of the 2023 season.

Penn State won in blowout fashion over Morehead State by a score of 74-51.

This now marks the second straight season that the Nittany Lions have kicked off the season with a 4-0 record.

Sophomore guard Kanye Clary has consistently electrified the Bryce Jordan Center crowd so far and the trend continued against the Eagles.

While he struggled from the field, shooting just 3-14 overall and 0-2 from beyond the arc, Clary managed to shoot nine free throws on the night, sinking eight of them en route to a team-high 14 points.

Clary was not the only Nittany Lion to continue their impressive start, as Georgetown transfer Qudus Wahab had yet another stand-out performance showcasing his blend of size, strength and finesse on both ends of the court.

In the scorers column, Wahab led the way along with Clary, picking up 14 points of his own.

He also recorded 12 rebounds on the night, making for his second double-double of the young season.

“What I’m really proud of [with] Q is his versatility going after the ball… his pressure at the rim, rebounding on both ends of the court… I think he’s got off to a great start,” Rhoades said on his impressions of Wahab’s play so far.

Like Clary, the 6-foot-11 forward spent plenty of time at the charity stripe as well, going 10-13 from the line.

The ability to draw fouls overall was a huge component in Penn State’s victory with 30 points coming in the form of free throws alone.

This goes along with the aggressive mindset that head coach Mike Rhoades has put an emphasis on instilling in his players.

“You drive it so hard, you do it over and over again and you put the pressure on the people with the whistle,” Rhoades said regarding his message to the team when it comes to drawing fouls.

Something else that Penn State’s new head coach has preached since he began to implement his system this past summer is the ability to play fast up and down the court to put pressure on opposing defenses.

The Nittany Lions press at a heavy rate and take a fair amount of chances on the defensive end that provide big play potential as well as the possibility for disaster if not executed properly.

Against Morehead State, the Penn State faithful got to witness the latter as the blue and white not only forced a whopping 29 turnovers, but scored a total of 32 points off said turnovers compared to just two from the Eagles in the same category.

Following this convincing win, the Nittany Lions will take their talents away from University Park for the first time this season as they head off to a matchup with Texas A&M in Kissimmee, Fla. as a part of the ESPN Event Invitational next Thursday.

Jakob Schnur is a fourth year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jks6463@psu.edu.