UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's basketball team used a strong defensive second half to earn a hard-fought 74-65 win over Lehigh Friday night inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
The teams were tied at 38 at the half, but the Nittany Lion defense clamped down in the second half as Lehigh shot just 30.0 percent from the field and Penn State racked up nine second-half steals.
Sophomore Kanye Clary led three Nittany Lions in double figures with 20 points to go along with three steals. Senior Ace Baldwin Jr. tallied 16 points, three assists and two steals. Graduate student Qudus Wahab registered his first double-double of the season with 11 points and a career-high 18 rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Nittany Lions raced out to an early 17-10 lead five and a half minutes into the game behind eight points from Clary and seven from D'Marco Dunn.
- The Mountain Hawks strung together a 13-0 streak over the next five-plus minutes to take a 23-17 lead with 9:22 left in the first half.
- Lehigh held onto a small lead for the next eight minutes until a Jameel Brown 3-pointer at the 2:41 mark sparked an 8-2 Penn State run that tied the score at 38-38 with 1:12 left on the first-half clock. Neither team scored for the remainder of the opening term as the teams headed into halftime deadlocked at 38.
- The Mountain Hawks scored the first basket of the second half, but Penn State answered with the next six points to take its first lead since midway through the first half at 44-40 with 16:39 to play.
- A Brown triple gave Penn State a 50-44 lead three minutes later, but Lehigh answered with back-to-back 3-pointers to knot the score back up at 50.
- The Nittany Lions jumped right back in front after baskets from Baldwin Jr. and Kern Jr. and held onto a 54-52 lead at the 10:41 mark.
- Back-to-back steal and scores made the Bryce Jordan Center erupt at the 9:30 mark as Kern Jr. and Clary made the score 58-53 Penn State with 9:30 to play.
- Penn State's defense carried that momentum into holding Lehigh without a field goal for the next six-plus minutes as the Nittany Lions stretched their lead to 65-54 at the 7:43 mark.
- Lehigh wouldn't get closer than eight the rest of the way as Penn State earned the 74-65 win to move to 2-0 on the season.
GAME NOTES
- The Nittany Lions are now 32-11 all-time against Lehigh and have won each of the last 10 meetings.
- Through two games this season, the Penn State defense has held its opponents to a 33.3 FG% and 13.8 3FG%. The Nittany Lions have tallied 22 steals and 14 blocks through their first two games.
- Kanye Clary put together his second 20-point game in as many contests, finishing with 20 points, three steals, two rebounds and two assists.
- Qudus Wahab pulled down a career-best 18 rebounds in his first double-double as a Nittany Lion. Wahab's previous career-best mark was 16 rebounds (at DePaul, 12/29/22).
- Ace Baldwin Jr. tallied his first double-digit scoring game as a Nittany Lion, finishing with 16 points.
- D'Marco Dunn started his first collegiate game.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Mike Rhoades
Ace Baldwin Jr. and Qudus Wahab
HIGHLIGHTS
UP NEXT
- The Nittany Lions remain home Tuesday night to host local foe St. Francis (Pa.) at 7 p.m. inside the Bryce Jordan Center. The game will air nationally on the Big Ten Network.
The 2023-24 Penn State men's basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.