1. Game Grades: PSU/VMI
Penn State’s 62-50 home-opening victory over the VMI Keydets was a game in which
sophomoreguard Shep Garner hit four of the team’s five 3-pointers. Garner scored 10
of his 15 points in the second half, and shot67% from 3-point range in the game. Penn
State dominated VMI in every facet of the game, from free throw percentage and trips to
the line, to turnovers, rebounds, and field goal percentage. They are 1-0 on the 2015-
2016 season, and will play the second game of a two-game home stand when they host
DePaul Tuesday night at 5:00 p.m.
Field GoalPercentage&Efficiency:A
Penn State had multiple players with double-digit field goal totals, as Shep Garner had
15 points in the game, Brandon Taylor added 13 points, and Payton Banks collected 12
points. Four-star recruiting prospectJoshReaves had 6 points, going 3-6 from the field.
Donovan Jack, Julian Moore, Devin Foster, and Isaiah Washington had 4 points apiece
from the field. Penn State spaced out the ball and offensive production nicely to various
players, rather than putting the offensive productioninto the laps of one player (D.J.
Newbill-era). The Nittany Lions shot an impressive 42.6% from the field in the victory.
Rebounds: A
Penn State out-rebounded the VMI Keydets 38-33 in the game, honing in 5 more boards
than VMI overall. Their offensive rebound percentage for the game was 36.1%
compared to VMI’s 28.6%, a 7.5% difference in Penn State’s favor. Penn State had 13
offensive rebounds and 25 defensive rebounds in the game, doing well offensively and
defensively in that department.
Turnovers: B+
2. In the turnover department, Penn State did well, and better than VMI. The Nittany
Lions induced only nine turnovers in the game, while VMI turned it over 14 times. Not
a single Penn State player had more than two turnovers in the entire game (Garner- 2
TO’s, Banks- 2 TO’s).
Free Throw Line Trips & Percentage:A
Penn State made 18 trips to the charity stripe in the game, 6 more trips to the line than
VMI. The Nittany Lions also shot11-18 from the free throw line, a robust 61.1% free
throw percentage. Five of Brandon Taylor’s 13 points came from the free throw line,
where he shot5-8. Payton Banks went 3-4 from the line.
Steals:A
Three Penn State starters recorded steals in the seasonopener, as Shep Garner, Brandon
Taylor and Josh Reaves had two takeaways each in the contest; a total of six steals for
Penn State. VMI mustered only half as many steals, with three. Not one VMI starter had
more than one steal in the game.
Defense:A
Penn State’s defense played brilliantly all game long. The defense held VMI to only 18-
49 shooting, a low 37% clip. In addition, Penn State had five blocks in the game, with
three of the blocks coming from guard Josh Reaves. Center Jordan Dickerson and
forward Brandon Taylor added one block each. In contrast, VMI had zero blocks in the
game.
Daniel Correa is a junior who is currently majoring in broadcast
journalism. You can contact him at dec5271@psu.edu.
