UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Few players can change the game quite like senior guard Ace Baldwin Jr. The clock ticked down to less than a minute remaining when Baldwin stared his defender down and combined a pair of crossovers to rise above his defender from NBA range and bury a 3-pointer to ignite the crowd inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
Baldwin's bucket gave Penn State an 11-point advantage and created a signature moment in his brief Nittany Lion career. Baldwin posted 13 points in the last 3:48 of the game and had 18 of his 22 points in the second half. The barrage of shot making from Baldwin sparked his teammates too as Penn State took control late to win 89-79.
Baldwin's fifth 20-point performance of the season and second in as many games provided Penn State with its third-consecutive win over Iowa. The cardiac cats pulled off their fourth comeback win in a game that featured an eight-point Nittany Lion halftime lead dissipate into a seven-point Iowa advantage. Baldwin knew from that moment it was his time to take over.
"He's not afraid," head coach Mike Rhoades said. "The dude is not afraid. He's not afraid to be the guy to say alright, I'm gonna make a play and if it doesn't happen, it's on me. He's hard on himself but he also works on his game and he has that elite competitiveness. I wish I could say it was coaching, it's not. It's an innate ability to go make a play when it's needed. That's a level of competitiveness that not everybody has. I think he's an outlier in that area and he's gonna do whatever it takes to win."
It was a tale of two halves for Baldwin who had four turnovers and four points in the first half. It wasn't the same aggressive Baldwin as he took just two shots in the opening 20 minutes, but headed to the locker room with more turnovers than assists.
Halftime gave the savvy senior guard an opportunity to mentally reset. Baldwin dialed up the pressure defensively and let his defense ignite his offense which featured a perfect 3-for-3 mark from beyond the arc and an unblemished 9-for-9 from the free throw line.
"I was a little careless with the ball in the first half and as a leader, as a point guard, I just had to step it up and that's what I did," Baldwin said.
The four first-half turnovers quickly became an afterthought for Baldwin who was recently named to the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watch List. Baldwin had just one turnover in the second half and generated three steals which set his offense in motion.
Rhoades praised Baldwin for his leadership and unique competitive drive that few players around the country possess. Baldwin's drive to win mirrors many basketball greats and gives Penn State a dynamic playmaker who will do anything to win.
"Ace will play a game and not score a point," Rhoades said. "If his team wins, he's good. That's how important winning is to him. There's some guys that want to score and say, 'I hope we win but if I had a good game, I guess.' We lose, Ace doesn't talk to anyone for two days, that's how competitive he is."
Rhoades during a timeout looked at his players and gave a stern message to his team while Penn State was trailing.
"Are we gonna go through this again?" Rhoades said. "This is how it is every time we play at home? I said just stick together. I said take a deep breath, clear your mind here and let's get back to doing what we're capable of doing."
This spoke to the veteran leaders on the team like Baldwin and graduate student forward Qudus Wahab who tallied 14 points on 6-for-8 shooting from the field. Wahab wanted to correct the mistakes made in the Minnesota loss and be able to finish the game.
Baldwin echoed that message by saying, "In the Minnesota game, we just let our foot off the gas and gave up like the game was over, this game we just kept playing." Baldwin backed up his words and willed Penn State back in the game by utilizing his bag of tricks to create shots off the dribble and from 3-point range. Thursday's 10-point win further cemented Baldwin as an elite point general and a leader whose words are met with game-changing performance.
"He's very demanding of his teammates but he's also very demanding on himself and he gets mad at himself for not playing at a certain level," Rhoades said. "When he tells certain guys and he gets them going, it means more when it comes from your point guard and your leader and means even more than from me. He has that ability. I always said he would be a heck of a DB, he'd be a heck of a quarterback and whatever sport he plays, he has that feeling. The greatest compliment you can get as a team sport, is you make those around you better. He does that."
