UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – A gutsy full-team effort led the Penn State men's basketball team to an 87-83 win over Big Ten-leading No. 11/8 Wisconsin Tuesday night. Fans stormed the Bryce Jordan Center court as the Nittany Lions handed Wisconsin their first Big Ten loss of the season.
Penn State led for over 36 minutes against the No. 11/8 Badgers, controlling the tempo from start to finish. The Nittany Lions converted 53.3 percent of their shots from the floor, including a 40 percent clip from downtown.
The dynamic backcourt duo of sophomore Kanye Clary and senior Ace Baldwin Jr. led the way for the Nittany Lions as the two guards combined for 47 points. Clary led all scorers with 27 points while collecting four boards and a steal. Baldwin Jr. netted 20, adding a team-high five assists along with three rebounds and two steals to his line. Junior Nick Kern Jr. scored 15 points and picked up two steals to complement the outstanding performances by the Penn State guards.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Nittany Lions raced out to a fast 12-2 start just over four minutes into the game. Penn State forced three Wisconsin turnovers and held the Badgers to a 1-for-5 clip from the field in the first 4:23, while seven points from Ace Baldwin Jr. fueled the Nittany Lions' strong start.
- Wisconsin scored eight of the next 12 points to pull within six at 16-10 three minutes later, but baskets from D'Marco Dunn, Leo O'Boyle and Zach Hicks helped Penn State snap back with a 9-4 stretch that put the Nittany Lions back ahead by double-digits at 25-14 with 8:03 left on the first-half clock.
- Back-to-back buckets from Nick Kern Jr. had Penn State's edge at 29-17 just over a minute later before the Badgers rattled off a 13-5 streak over the next 3:30 to trim the Nittany Lion lead to four at 34-30 at 3:26.
- Wisconsin got as close as two at 37-35 with 1:30 left in the half, but the Nittany Lion defense kept the Badgers off the board for the remainder of the half and Kanye Clary added a layup to give Penn State a 39-35 advantage heading into the locker room.
- The Badgers knotted the score at 41-41 two and a half minutes into the second half. Penn State had an answer for every Wisconsin basket for the next four minutes as the Nittany Lions never allowed the Badgers to take a lead and Penn State was up 55-52 after a Baldwin Jr. triple at the 13:35 mark.
- The Nittany Lions remained in front until the Badgers took their first lead of the game with 5:01 to play as a Max Klesmit 3-pointer capped a 10-2 Wisconsin run to put the Badgers up 70-68.
- Penn State answered right back with four free throws from Kern Jr. to immediately reclaim the advantage, limiting the Badgers' lead to just 17 seconds.
- Wisconsin cut the advantage to three points with 1:42 left, before Clary scored three-straight to give the Lions a six-point cushion with 0:37 on the clock.
- That cushion was all Penn State would need as it wound out the clock and finished with an 87-83 win over No. 11/8 Wisconsin.
GAME NOTES
- Penn State's win over No. 11/8 Wisconsin marks the highest-ranked opponent (per AP Poll) that Penn State has defeated since the Nittany Lions took down No. 4/4 Maryland (76-69) on Dec. 10, 2019 in Happy Valley.
- The Nittany Lions' win over the No. 11/8 Badgers marks the first time Penn State defeated a top 15 opponent since it knocked off No. 14/13 Wisconsin in the Bryce Jordan Center on Jan. 30, 2021.
- Penn State has now defeated at least one top-25 ranked team at the Bryce Jordan Center for the ninth-straight season.
- Penn State snapped Wisconsin's six-game win streak. Wisconsin came into the game 5-0 in Big Ten play and the Badgers hadn't lost a game since Dec. 9 when UW fell at then-#1 Arizona.
- Ace Baldwin Jr. (20) and Kanye Clary (27) each recorded 20+ points, marking the first pair of Nittany Lion teammates to reach the 20-point plateau in the same game since Clary (22) and Jameel Brown (20) did so in the first game of the season, Penn State's win against Delaware State on Nov. 6, 2023.
- Clary set a Big Ten career-high with 27 points against the Badgers. The sophomore has now scored in double figures in 15 games this season with 10 20-plus point efforts.
- Baldwin Jr. connected on a season-best four three-pointers.
- Junior Zach Hicks tied his Big Ten career high with three triples. Hicks finished with nine points, two rebounds, and an assist.
- Sophomore Demetrius Lilley hauled in a career-high six rebounds in the contest, leading the Nittany Lions in the category. Lilley also tied his Big Ten career high with four points.
- Qudus Wahab set his season-best mark with four blocks, including a key block in the final minutes.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Mike Rhoades
Ace Baldwin Jr. & Kanye Clary
HIGHLIGHTS
ACE BALDWIN JR. ONE-ON-ONE
UP NEXT
- The Nittany Lions face their first repeat opponent of the season Saturday when Penn State travels to Ohio State for a noon tipoff on the Big Ten Network. Penn State won the season's first meeting with the Buckeyes 83-80 on Dec. 9 in Happy Valley.
The 2023-24 Penn State men's basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.