Scott’s versatility helps lead to victory
Senior small forward able to hold PSU’s Lundy to 11 points, his fewest in nearly a month
Donta Scott isn’t widely renowned for his defense, but his performance Maryland’s 74-68 home win against Penn State Saturday afternoon might change that perception.
The senior small forward was the primary defender in limiting Nittany Lions senior shooting guard Seth Lundy to 11 points — his fewest in nearly a month.
Lundy, who entered the game as the only player in the Big Ten Conference and one of just players nationally to average at least 10 points and six rebounds and shoot better than 55% from 2-point range, 40% from 3-point distance and 80% from the free-throw line, made only 3 of 7 shots (42.9%) against the Terps, marking his worst showing since a 4 of 10 performance (40%) in a 65-45 setback at Rutgers on Jan. 24.
Although Scott scored just nine points for his lowest total since Jan. 22 when he finished with only five points in a 58-55 loss at No. 1 Purdue, he grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds and drew praise from coach Kevin Willard.
“I thought that was his best defensive game he’s played all year,” he said. “He did a heck of a job on Lundy for most of the game.”
Here are three takeaways from Saturday’s outcome:
Hakim Hart can do more
That the senior shooting guard’s gamehigh 23 points were also a career best against Big Ten competition almost seems inconceivable based on how seemingly at ease he willed himself against Penn State.
Of the 15 points he scored in the second half, Hart scored 11 of them in the final 6:11 after the Nittany Lions had pulled to within 55-52 with 7:12 left in the second half. Hart canned mid-range jumpers, attacked the rim for layups and and-one opportunities and drained 3-point attempts.
Willard noticed the problems the 6-foot8, 205-pound Hart poses against opponents.
“I have a lot of confidence in him,” he said. “Depending on pick-and-roll coverage or post coverage, I can go either way and get him to use his height.
“He’s a very good passer when he’s down there.”
Graduate student point guard Jahmir Young took note of his teammate’s torrid stretch in that second half.
“He was on tonight, and we were feeding off him tonight,” said Young, who chipped in 18 points, four rebounds and four assists. “… He’s a very talented player, and when he’s on, he’s very hard to stop.”
Penn State coach Micah Shrewsberry acknowledged that Hart was a tough
matchup for his defense.
“He got to some of those back-downs in the post, getting to the middle and driving,” he said. “He’s such a good passer that he scares you when he gets to the middle because he can find people. He put his head down and got to the rim a little bit more, and I think that’s where he was really good. That’s where he scares you. He’s got good size, he’s got great ball handling, he can play out of pick-androlls, he can play out of the post. He’s a good player.”
Defensive pressure got to Penn State
Only once this season had the Nittany Lions turned the ball over more than 11 times, and that occurred back on Nov. 18 when they had 14 in a 61-59 setback against Virginia Tech.
Penn State committed 13 turnovers on Saturday, including 10 in the first half. And Maryland took advantage by scoring 17 points off of those miscues.
Willard said one component of the team’s defensive strategy was to rotate a defender to help Young double-team fifth-year senior shooting guard Jalen Pickett. Although that left freshman point guard Kanye Clary to pace the Nittany Lions with 17 points, Willard wanted to force Penn State to accelerate its tempo.
“We wanted to trap Pickett early because no one’s really trapped him,” he said. “With Lundy and [fifth-year senior shooting guard Andrew] Funk, it’s really hard to double, but we just wanted him to see some pressure, and I thought our press was pretty good early in the game.”
Shrewsberry said the Terps’ length and
athleticism were two elements his team did not have much time to prepare for after a 79-74 overtime loss against Wisconsin Wednesday night.
But he also said his players contributed to the lack of ball protection in the first half.
“I didn’t think we were moving on penetration and getting people looks,” he said. “... We gave them too many run-outs and too many pick-sixes and [were] giving up layups and getting fouls, and now they’re starting to feel good about themselves because they’re getting layups and starting to see the ball go through the net.”
The disparity in free throws was significant
In the first half, Maryland went to the freethrow line seven times and made five. The Nittany Lions missed their only attempt in that period.
In the second half, the Terps made 16 trips to the charity stripe and sank 13. Penn State attempted three free throws and converted two.
What really angered Shrewsberry was that Pickett, who does most of his damage inside the 3-point arc, went to the free-throw line just once on Saturday. And that was his only
attempt in his last four games.
Shrewsberry didn’t deny that Maryland earned its trips to the free-throw line. But he argued that Pickett should have had his chances, too.
“Jalen Pickett plays in the paint the entire night, and never sniffs the free-throw line. That’s disrespectful,” he said. “If it’s on me, take it out on me. Throw me out of the game so I’ll shut up and you ain’t got to listen to me for the rest of the game. But don’t be unfair to these kids, and this kid has given his all for this team, this conference, whatever. He deserves better.”