Penn State’s Nick Kern Jr. did it all in the Nittany Lions’ 85-66 win over Fordham on Monday, tallying 20 points and 13 rebounds for his first-career double-double to lead the Nittany Lions to Tuesday’s championship game of the Sunshine Slam. The Nittany Lions will face the winner of San Francisco and Clemson in Daytona Beach, Florida, for the tourney title.
“Nick Kern is just a hard-rocking dude, man. That’s the best way to explain him,” coach Mike Rhoades told the Penn State Sports Network postgame. “He listens, he’s coachable, but in competition, he’s just tough, and you saw that today. His drives to the rim, his defense, his rebounding, the way he was guarding the ball.”
Zach Hicks also scored 16 points and Puff Johnson scored 15 points while Yanic Konan Niederhauser and Ace Baldwin Jr. each added 12 to help Penn State score at least 80 points for a sixth consecutive game for the first time in program history. The Nittany Lions now move to 6-0 for the first time since the 1999-2000 season.
“I thought he made some plays and guys found him for some threes, and then I thought he did a good job of getting downhill,” Rhoades said of Johnson. “So we need him and Zach to rebound more. But I thought Puff is just playing with more confidence than he ever has and I’m just really proud of him.”
It was a game that saw Penn State face some adversity, caused by a Rams squad that, at one point, nailed seven straight shot attempts. Nonetheless, the Nittany Lions’ high-powered offense could not be slowed despite a rough night from leading scorer Ace Baldwin Jr. that left him with 12 points on 2-for-8 shooting from the field and four turnovers.
Penn State still shot a 53% clip, hitting 5-of-14 attempts from 3-point land and scoring 15 points off of 14 turnovers. The Nittany Lions also won the rebounding battle 38-30. They were helped significantly by a Fordham team that made just 10 of 20 attempts from the free-throw line.
Jackie Johnson III and Josh Rivera each scored 15 points to lead the Rams, led by former Penn State assistant coach Keith Urgo.
INJURIES
Four-star freshman forward Miles Goodman missed his sixth consecutive game. Rhoades said last week that Goodman’s absence was simply “protocol. … Nebraska transfer Eli Rice missed a second straight game with what Rhoades has called a “recurring” injury.
