Roman Siulep powers Pitt in rout of Penn State
Roman Siulepa scored a career-high 28 points to propel Pitt to an 80-46 victory over Penn State on Sunday in Hershey, Pa.
Fellow freshman Omari Witherspoon added 15 points for the Panthers (7-6), who have notched back-to-back resounding victories following a three-game losing streak.
Pitt pounded Penn State on the boards, 42-30, and finished 12-of-24 from 3-point range, compared to 4-of-23 for the Nittany Lions.
Freddie Dilione V scored 23 points off the bench for Penn State (8-4). The Nittany Lions shot just 33 percent overall with the starters combining for 18 points on 6-of-24 shooting.
Barry Dunning Jr., Damarco Minor and Siulepa each made a 3-pointer in the first three minutes of the game as Pitt took an early 9-3 lead. Siulepa added another shortly thereafter and then converted a tip-in to give the Panthers a 19-6 advantage.
Penn State made a minor dent in the deficit, closing to within 23-13 on Dilione's jumper with about 10 1/2 minutes left in the first half. However, Pitt scored 10 of the next 14 points, including back-to-back dunks by Cameron Corhen, to restore a comfortable advantage.
In the final minute of the first half, Minor knocked down a 3-pointer to push the lead to 20 for the first time. Penn State turned it over on the final possession of the first half and went into the locker room trailing 40-20.
The Nittany Lions made a push early in the second half with Josh Reed's layup making it 41-28 with about 14 1/2 minutes to play. Less than a minute later, Kayden Mingo's layup brought Penn State within 42-30.
However, that is as close as Penn State got, as Brandin Cummings made a jumper and two free throws to increase the lead back to 16. Not long thereafter, Siulepa scored on a dunk, a layup and a 3-pointer in a span of 70 seconds as the lead ballooned to 56-34.
Siulepa wasn't done, though. He enjoyed one more hot stretch where he converted a 3-pointer, a layup and a three-point play. He capped his career day with a 3-pointer in the final minute.