# Penn State Basketball Near Disaster

> Penn State basketball team nearly lost to Chattanooga after second-half collapse.
- Title: Penn State Basketball Near Disaster | Shortify
- Summary: Penn State basketball team nearly lost to Chattanooga after second-half collapse.
- Keywords: penn state, chattanooga, nittany lions, basketball, mocs, bryce jordan center, free throw, roberts blums, broken finger, pitt, palestra, espn2
- Source: Penn State Nittany Lions On SI — https://si.com/college/pennstate/basketball/what-we-learned-from-penn-state-basketball-near-disaster-vs-chattanooga
- Published: 2026-11-06T16:15:15+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: penn state, chattanooga, nittany lions, basketball, mocs, bryce jordan center, free throw, roberts blums, broken finger, pitt, palestra, espn2
## Penn State basketball near disaster
Penn State men's basketball coach Mike Rhoades walked into his team's locker room Thursday night after losing 62 points in the second half to Chattanooga.
## Near second-half disaster
Penn State led by 23 points at halftime but allowed 62 points in the second half to Chattanooga, losing 97-93.
## Josh Reed saves game
Forward Josh Reed scored 25 points with five rebounds and five steals to help Penn State win 97-93.
## Defensive breakdown
Penn State allowed four field goals in the final nine minutes of play and struggled with Chattanooga's outside shooting.
## Chattanooga's size advantage
Chattanooga scored 42 points in the paint despite Penn State's size advantage with at least three players over 6-7.
## Coach Rhoades' concerns
Coach Rhoades said Penn State didn't guard the ball well and needed to help on defense.

> I think they made some adjustments to go on us quicker, attack certain matchups, put us in space, and i didn't think we guarded the ball well today.
## Chattanooga coach's comments
Chattanooga coach Dan Earl said his team played more aggressively after halftime.

> You still have to be aggressive, and i think the guys just kind of let go a little bit.
## Free throw success
Penn State went 43-for-49 at the free-throw line after drawing 33 fouls on Chattanooga.
## Josh Reed's impact
Reed made 15 of 16 free throws to match his career high in points and was the team's anchor.

> He's our anchor. He's the vet here. He's been here before, and it's kind of expected from him.
## Roberts Blums injury
Penn State guard Roberts Blums will miss a couple weeks with a broken finger.

> Knowing rob, it could be tomorrow.
## Poor three-point shooting
Penn State shot 12-for-54 from three-point range (22.2 percent) since the exhibition game against Drexel.
## Next game against Pitt
Penn State faces Pitt in Philadelphia at 8 p.m. Sunday inside the Palestra.
## Key takeaway

Penn State basketball team nearly lost to Chattanooga after second-half collapse.