KISSIMMEE, Fla. – The Penn State men's basketball team fell victim to a late surge from VCU as the Nittany Lions dropped an 86-74 game to the Rams in the ESPN Events Invitational finale Sunday morning from the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
Ace Baldwin Jr. put together his highest-scoring effort in the Blue & White, finishing with 27 points and five assists to lead the Nittany Lions. Qudus Wahab finished with 14 points and six rebounds, while D'Marco Dunn contributed 11 points in his first double-digit scoring effort as a Nittany Lion.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Nittany Lions started cold as the Rams got out to an early 7-2 lead four minutes into the game. A Baldwin Jr. layup at the 14:40 mark was followed by back-to-back triples from D'Marco Dunn as Penn State responded with an 11-4 run over a nearly five minute stretch to even the score at 13-13 with 10:30 left on the first-half clock.
- The teams traded buckets until the Rams produced a 15-9 stretch over a 4:06 span that gave VCU a 41-34 lead with 2:09 on the clock. The Rams didn't score a field goal in the final 2:08, but were able to add points from the charity stripe as VCU took a 46-40 lead into halftime.
- Five points from Baldwin Jr. and four from Wahab fueled a 9-2 Penn State run to open the second half as the Nittany Lions pulled back in front, 49-48, with 15:22 to play. Penn State's lead reached three after a Wahab dunk at 55-52 before VCU scored 10 of the next 12 points to reclaim the lead at 62-57 with 9:47 left on the game clock.
- Penn State was within four at 66-62, but the Rams hit three 3-pointers in a 2:50 span to put together an 11-2 run that extended the VCU lead to 77-64 with 4:22 to play. The Nittany Lions narrowed the gap to eight in the final minute, but weren't able to complete the comeback attempt as the Rams earned the 86-74 win.
GAME NOTES
- Ace Baldwin Jr. had his best outing in the Blue & White, finishing with 27 points on 8-for-19 shooting.
- D'Marco Dunn recorded his first double-figure scoring effort as a Nittany Lion. Dunn finished with 11 in the game, with nine coming in an outstanding first half. Dunn also connected on a career-best three 3-pointers, a mark he hit in his perfect 3-for-3 effort from behind the arc in the opening 20 minutes of play.
- Graduate Student Qudus Wahab tied his season high with 14 points in the game, his fourth game with ten-plus points this season. Wahab tied Zach Hicks to lead the team with six rebounds in the game.
- Penn State's leading scorer Kanye Clary (19.5 ppg) missed a majority of the game due to an injury.
UP NEXT
- The Nittany Lions return home Saturday to host local foe Bucknell in a noon tipoff at the Bryce Jordan Center.
The 2023-24 Penn State men's basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.