Penn State men’s basketball (11-2, 1-1 Big Ten) used second-half dominance to defeat Penn (4-9) 86-66 in its final non-conference game of the season on Sunday afternoon at the Bryce Jordan Center .
After having a three-point lead at halftime, the Nittany Lions shot 53% from the field in the second half to end 2024 with a 20-point victory, led by double-doubles from Ace Baldwin Jr., who had 23 points and 10 assists, and Yanic Konan Niederhauser with 19 points and 15 rebounds.
Takeaways
- The Nittany Lions went eight days since their last game, a 75-64 win over Drexel, and started slow against Penn, shooting 38% from the field and only taking away two steals in the first half.
- Penn State was shooting nearly 37% from distance coming into its matchup with the Quakers but went 0-for-9 from beyond the arc in the first half. However, the Nittany Lions cleaned up the shooting woes and went 4-for-9 in the second frame.
- Getting to the free throw line heavily favored Penn State in this game, as it forced 24 fouls against Penn and went 22-for-26 from the stripe.
- Mike Rhoades earned his 400th career victory, 27 of which have come at Penn State.
How It Happened
Mike Rhoades rolled out his typical starting five of Baldwin, Zach Hicks, Freddie Dilione V, Puff Johnson, and Konan Niederhauser, who scored the game’s opening bucket down low.
After Bradyn Foster scored an open layup, Baldwin found Konan Niederhauser for an alley-oop slam, allowing Penn State to set up its full-court press and force a 10-second violation.
Three minutes into the game, Nick Spinoso made a pair of free throws to even the score at 4-4, but the Nittany Lions retook the lead with a Baldwin layup through traffic. Nick Kern Jr. then threw down a one-handed jam off a lob from Johnson, sending the game to its first media timeout.
The Quakers came out of the break with a quick 6-0 spurt as Michael Zanoni made three foul shots and Niklas Polonowski drilled an open corner three, the first made triple by either team, but Kern tied it back up moments later with a runner.
Baldwin scored four in a row before Spinoso backed down Konan Niederhauser to make it a two-point Penn deficit heading into the under-12 media timeout. Penn then went on a 7-1 run to take a 17-15 lead, forcing a Penn State timeout with 8:48 remaining in the first half.
Following the timeout, Konan Niederhauser scored a second-chance basket, but Zanoni answered with a three, prompting him to taunt Dominick Stewart, which warranted a technical foul and gave Baldwin two makes at the charity stripe.
Konan Niederhauser then added four more free throws to give the blue and white a 23-20 advantage, which was erased by a Zanoni transition three, and he made it a four-point play after being fouled by D’Marco Dunn and making the free throw.
Hicks became the first Nittany Lion other than Baldwin, Kern, and Konan Niederhauser to score when he grabbed an offensive rebound and dropped in a layup, but Polonowski hit another corner three to put Penn back on top by two with 4:30 to go before halftime.
Over the span of less than two minutes, Penn State went on a 7-0 run to force a Quaker timeout, while Spinoso quickly ended it with a physical short-range basket. Johnson then found Konan Niederhauser for another alley-oop dunk to make it 34-31, which was the score heading into halftime.
The second half began with a Sam Brown baseline floater, but Dilione raced down the floor to answer with his own layup, and Baldwin took it coast to coast for two more, making it 38-33 Penn State.
Spinoso got into double figures with a triple from the left wing after Dilione turned it over, but Dilione then went on a solo 4-0 run to give Penn State a 43-36 just over four minutes into the second half. After the media timeout, Zanoni made his fourth three while Konan Niederhauser scored twice down low.
Penn State made it a 10-point lead going into the under-12 media timeout before AJ Levine cut into it from distance moments later. Then, a couple of offensive rebounds eventually set up Hicks for his second score via a floater.
An alley-oop from Baldwin to Kern, along with two Baldwin free throws, had Penn State up 14, and Konan Niederhauser and Johnson then extended it to 21 as Penn State went on an 11-0 run. Johnson’s bucket marked Penn State’s first three of the day.
After the spurt was ended by Foster, Baldwin fed Johnson with a bounce pass that led to a dunk to put Johnson in double figures. Dilione scored two straight buckets for Penn State, one of which was from beyond the arc, but Foster and George Smith scored for Penn, making it 74-56 Nittany Lions.
Penn State’s improved second-half three-point shooting continued from Baldwin’s straight-away make just before the final media timeout. Kern made it 79-56 out of the break, and Jahvin Carter hit a triple immediately after stepping onto the floor for the first time.
With time winding down, Joe Sedora put in two free throws and Zanoni made two more threes, making it 86-66 in favor of Penn State, and Penn State closed out the calendar year with a 20-point win.
What’s Next?
Penn State will open 2025 by welcoming Northwestern to the Bryce Jordan Center at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 2. The game will be streamed on Peacock.
