Kanye Clary Leads Penn State Past Le Moyne

Clary scores 20 points in the Nittany Lions' non-conference victory.

Kanye Clary had 20 points, six assists and five rebounds in leading Penn State over Le Moyne 72-55 in a non-conference basketball game at the Bryce Jordan Center on Thursday. Penn State heads into its holiday break with a win to help soothe the memory of last weekend's bitter defeat against Georgia Tech.

Penn State (6-6) returned home after an 82-81 loss to Georgia Tech that ended with a contested foul call in overtime. Penn State coach Mike Rhoades also knew that his team might be distracted playing the nation's 341st-ranked team, according to KenPom, while the students are on holiday break. So he began the game with a message.

"Let's call it as it is," Rhoades said. "I'm sure a lot of guys had their bags packed before the game; just don't have your game packed. ... People are sleepwalking because they're already halfway down the highway. I told these guys, 'Let's be present, let's be a great teammate and let's go win a college basketball game.'"

Penn State led by as many as 20 points in the first half, when it made nine 3-pointers. The Lions hit a bit of a wall, though, as Le Moyne cut that deficit to 12 at halftime. But the Dolphins couldn't get within single digits, as Clary scored 11 points in the second half. Clary, the team's leading scorer, had his sixth 20-point game of the season and made a career-high four 3-pointers.

Penn State also had its best rebounding game of the season, grabbing a season-high 43 boards. Qudus Wahab had nine, while Puff Johnson added eight. The Lions improved to 6-1 at home this season.

Up Next

Penn State returns from break to host Rider on Dec. 29 for its last non-conference game of the season. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.

More on Penn State Basketball

Penn State Basketball on SI.com

Penn State falls to Georgia Tech after an "inexcusable" foul call in overtime

Penn State rallies from big deficit to stun Ohio State

Penn State drops fifth straight game in overtime loss at Maryland

"We're in a rut," Mike Rhoades says after loss to Bucknell

Penn State 'should be mad' after trip to Florida, coach Mike Rhoades says

Penn State goes 0-3 at ESPN Events Invitational in Florida

Nittany Lions predictions for the 2023-24 season

Former Bucknell coach Pat Flannery joins NIL collective as general manager

Kanye Clary takes central role in Penn State's rebuild

AllPennState is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on Twitter @MarkWogenrich. And consider subscribing (button's on the home page) for more great content across the SI.com network.