Game Grades: PSU/VMI

Penn State’s 62-50 home-opening victory over the VMI Keydets was a game in which

sophomore guard Shep Garner hit four of the team’s five 3-pointers. Garner scored 10

of his 15 points in the second half, and shot 67% 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 Goal Percentage &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 prospect Josh Reaves 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 production into 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+

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 shot 11-18 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 shot 5-8. Payton Banks went 3-4 from the line.

Steals: A

Three Penn State starters recorded steals in the season opener, 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.

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