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Written by Braydin Adams
Penn State’s Late Rally Falls Short as Pitt Claims 82-76 Victory at the Palestra
On Sunday, November 8th, the Penn State men’s basketball team hosted the Pittsburgh Panthers at the Palestra in Philadelphia, PA. For the Nittany Lions, this was their first true test of the 2026 season and their first major opponent.
Pittsburgh got off to a solid start, building an early 10-6 lead and taking advantage of the size difference to attack the paint early.
Through the first eight minutes, the game was defense-heavy, and the Panthers found themselves up 15-14, with a majority of the points coming from the free-throw line. Penn State’s interior defense struggled, though, due to the height disadvantage.
Then came Penn State’s turn. Brant Byers knocked down a big three-pointer to give the Lions a 35-28 advantage with five minutes remaining in the first half.
Pittsburgh wasted absolutely no time responding, going on a 9-2 run. Turnovers on the Nittany Lions’ side of things allowed the Panthers to tie the game at 37-37 with just two minutes remaining in the first half.
The game entered halftime with the Panthers leading 42-38. What hurt Penn State down the stretch was giving up dunks in transition and not being able to shoot or take care of the ball.
The second half began with both teams knocking down a three-pointer, but the Nittany Lions still struggled with turnovers.
From there, both teams exchanged buckets as A’lahn Sumler led the way for Pittsburgh and Dasonte Bowen for Penn State. At this point, the Lions trailed 48-44 with just under seventeen minutes to go in the game.
Both teams struggled to develop an offensive rhythm, and Penn State still found itself behind 62-56 with just under ten minutes remaining. At this point, Dasonte Bowen was the Lions’ leading scorer with 13 points, while A’lahn Sumler led the Panthers with 23.
Things started to get very scary for the Nittany Lions. After Pittsburgh built a 75-68 lead, Josh Reed was called for a charging foul, wasting another precious possession for Penn State with just 3:21 remaining in the game.
If the drama was not enough, Ivan Juric nailed a three-pointer, and the Lions got a steal with their press defense to cut the deficit to three, making the score 77-74. However, with just thirty seconds left, a free throw extended Pittsburgh’s lead to 78-74.
Dasonte Bowen made two free throws of his own to make the score 78-76 before committing a foul with just 13.2 seconds left.
A steal on the inbounds pass ended Penn State’s comeback hopes, though it was a hard-fought effort by the Nittany Lions.
The Nittany Lions simply let too many offensive possessions go to waste, and ultimately, the Panthers were able to get the win by a final score of 82-76.
Leading Scorers
Penn State: Dasonte Bowen (17), Ivan Juric (16), Roko Prkacin (11), Josh Reed (11), Brant Byers (9), Francois Wibaut (9)
Pittsburgh: A’lahn Sumler (26), Ndongo (13), Powell (13), Bethea (7), Souare (7)
Looking Ahead
Penn State loses its first game of the 2026-2027 season and falls to 2-1. The Nittany Lions will return to the court on Thursday when they host Mercyhurst and look to bounce back.
As for Pittsburgh, the Panthers improve to 3-0 and will look to keep their unbeaten season alive on Friday when they travel to take on Butler.
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