ANNVILLE, Pa. – The Penn State men’s basketball team got an early and unofficial start to the 2024-25 season with a 79-64 charity exhibition game win over Lafayette Friday night inside Sorrentino Gymnasium on the campus of Lebanon Valley College.
Head coach Mike Rhoades brought his team to his alma mater where he won the 1994 Division III National Championship, was the 1995 Division III National Player of the Year and was a two-time All-American. All proceeds from the sold-out charity exhibition game benefited Hope Within Ministries and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
The Nittany Lions shot 52.4 percent (11-for-21) from 3-point range and 50.0 percent (24-for-48) from the field. Penn State scored 21 points off of 15 Lafayette turnovers and limited the Leopards to a 38.1 percent (24-for-63) field goal percentage and 27.6 percent (8-for-29) clip from 3-point range.
Yanic Konan Niederhauser led four Nittany Lions in double figures with 15 points, five rebounds and four blocks. D’Marco Dunn scored 13 points and was 3-for-3 from 3-point range. Ace Baldwin Jr. tallied 11 points, nine assists, four rebounds and two seals, while Zach Hicks added 11 points and four assists.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Nittany Lions made four of their first five field goal attempts, including a pair of 3-pointers from Zach Hicks and D’Marco Dunn, to race out to an early 11-4 lead just four minutes into the game.
- The Penn State defense held Lafayette scoreless for nearly a four-minute stretch from 17:02 to 13:16 before the Leopards used a 14-7 streak to pull within two at 20-18 with 7:45 left on the first-half clock.
- The Leopards were within one at 25-24 just under two minutes later before a Puff Johnson triple was followed by eight-straight points from Dunn, including back-to-back 3-pointers, as the Nittany Lions used an 11-0 run over a 2:02 stretch to pull ahead 36-24 at the 3:48 mark.
- Lafayette scored seven of the half’s final nine points to trim the Nittany Lion lead down to 38-31 heading into halftime.
- A Konan Niederhauser turn-around jumper and Hicks triple opened the second half as Penn State reclaimed a double-digit lead at 43-31just 1:02 into the term.
- Back-to-back triples from Baldwin Jr. sparked a 22-9 Nittany Lion streak over the next 6:55. Penn State was 8-for-9 from the field and 3-for-4 from deep during the stretch, while Baldwin Jr. scored nine and Konan Niederhauser had five and Penn State extended its lead to 66-45 with 9:26 to play.
- The Leopards wouldn’t get closer than 14 the rest of the way as Penn State cruised to the 79-64 exhibition game win.
UP NEXT
- Penn State officially opens the season with a three-game homestand inside the Bryce Jordan Center that begins on Monday, Nov. 4, against Binghamton. Tipoff of the season opener against the Bearcats is set for 7:30 p.m.
The 2024-25 Penn State men’s basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.