IOWA CITY, Iowa – The Penn State men's basketball team trimmed a 17-point deficit down to two and fought to the finish, but wasn't able to complete the comeback in a 90-81 road loss at Iowa Tuesday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Qudus Wahab tallied a season high-tying 18 points to lead the Nittany Lions, while RayQuawndis Mitchell added a season-best 16 points. Ace Baldwin Jr. finished with 11 points, nine assists, four rebounds and two steals.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Hawkeyes took advantage of a slow Penn State start as Iowa raced out to a 17-point lead at 29-12 just over 10 minutes into the game.
- Penn State used six points from the charity stripe to help fuel an 8-0 run over the next two minutes as the Nittany Lions were able to pull within single digits at 29-20 with 7:45 left in the first half.
- The Hawkeyes were back up by 15 at 37-22 a minute and a half later, but five points from Puff Johnson sparked a 9-2 Nittany Lion response over the next 2:04 to trim the Iowa lead to eight at 39-31.
- The teams were even for the remainder of the half as Penn State wrapped up the term out-scoring the Hawkeyes 27-18 in the final 9:08 and narrowed Iowa's lead to 47-39 heading into halftime.
- Eight points from Ace Baldwin Jr. fueled a 10-4 Penn State run in the first 2:40 of the second half as the Nittany Lions pulled all the way within two at 51-49.
- Iowa scored eight points of a 12-6 streak from the free throw line to extend their edge to 63-55 two minutes later. The Hawkeyes used their momentum to stretch their lead to 15 at 73-58 with 10:49 to play.
- The Nittany Lions kept fighting and got back within eight at 79-71 just over five minutes later at the 5:19 mark. The Iowa lead was narrowed to six at 82-76 with 58.2 seconds to play following a Baldwin Jr. three-point play, but it would as close as Penn State would get as the Hawkeyes closed out the game from the charity stripe and earned the 90-81 win.
GAME NOTES
- With 81 points against the Hawkeyes, Penn State has now scored 80-plus points 10 times this season, including seven against a Big Ten opponent. That mark ties a school record in the Big Ten era, set by the 2020-21 squad that also tallied seven 80-plus point games in conference play.
- Penn State trailed by as much as 17 at the 9:43 mark of the first half. The Nittany Lions pulled as close as two with 17:20 to play in the second half.
- Penn State owned a 56-32 advantage in points in the paint, but the Hawkeyes controlled a 32-13 edge in free throws made.
- Qudus Wahab scored 12 of his season high-tying 18 points in the first half. He added a team high seven rebounds.
- RaqQuawndis Mitchell scored a season-best 16 points on a perfect 6-for-6 effort from the field. He added five rebounds and a steal in 14 minutes of action.
- Puff Johnson posted his best scoring outing since Jan. 20 with nine points against the Hawkeyes.
- The Penn State bench scored a Big Ten season best 39 points.
UP NEXT
- The Nittany Lions play their final road game of the regular season Saturday at Minnesota. Tipoff on the Big Ten Network is slated for 3:15 p.m. ET/2:15 p.m. CT.
The 2023-24 Penn State men's basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.