UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men’s basketball team outscored St. Francis (Pa.) 47-24 in the second half to surge to a 92-62 win and move to 3-0 on the season Tuesday night inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
The Nittany Lions turned a seven-point halftime lead into a 30-point margin of victory by way off an all-around team effort in the second half. Penn State limited the Red Flash to a 31.0 field goal percentage and 18.8 clip from 3-point range in the second half.
Puff Johnson led the Nittany Lions with a career-high 20 points behind a 7-for-8 showing from the field, while adding four rebounds and four steals. Ace Baldwin Jr. tallied 16 points, six assists and three steals. Yanic Konan Niederhauser finished with 11 points and seven rebounds after playing just four first-half minutes due to early foul trouble. D’Marco Dunn rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Penn State raced out to an 11-0 lead just two minutes into the game behind a Konan Niederhauser dunk and a trio of 3-pointers from Zach Hicks, Baldwin Jr. and Johnson to force an early St. Francis timeout at 17:58.
- The Red Flash worked their way back within five at 16-11 five minutes later. Penn State was ahead 25-17 following a Johnson jumper at the 9:39 mark, but St. Francis went five for its next five to string together a 10-4 stretch that pulled the Red Flash within two at 29-27 with 6:45 left on the first-half clock.
- Francis pulled ahead 34-33 with 2:17 to play, the first and only time Penn State has trailed thus far this season, but Johnson immediately answered with a personal 6-0 run over a 17-second stretch to put the Nittany Lions back in front 39-34 at 1:40.
- The Nittany Lions limited the Red Flash to just one field goal and two free throws in the final 2:16 as Baldwin Jr. scored five points and Dominick Stewart added a free throw to give Penn State a 45-38 lead heading into halftime.
- The teams exchanged baskets through the first five minutes of the second half as the Nittany Lions maintained a seven-point lead at 56-49.
- Puff Johnson drilled his third triple of the night at the 14:59 mark to spark a 23-3 run over the next 6:58. The Nittany Lion defense forced eight SFU turnovers during the stretch and allowed just one Red Flash basket from 15:16 to 6:42. Ten of Penn State’s points during the game-defining stretch were fastbreak points as the Nittany Lions ran their lead to 27 at 79-52 with 8:01 to play.
- The Nittany Lions were on cruise control the rest of the way, liming the Red Flash to a 31.0 second-half field goal percentage and 18.8 percent second-half clip from downtown as Penn State picked up the 92-62 victory.
GAME NOTES
- Penn State begins its season 3-0 for the third consecutive year and fourth time in the last six years.
- Penn State has scored 90-plus points in three consecutive games for the first time since 1995-96 season in which the Nittany Lions tallied 90, 99, and 99 points in three straight games to open up the year.
- The Nittany Lions are averaging 101.0 points per game through the first three games of the season.
- With 45 points in the first half tonight, 43 in the opening frame against UMBC, and 54 in the first half of the season against Binghamton, this marks the first time since at least the 2012-13 campaign that Penn State has scored 40+ in the first half of each of the first three games of a season.
- Puff Johnson’s 20 points bested his previous career high of 19 that was set last season at Minnesota (3/2/24). He finished 7-for-8 from the field, 3-for-4 from 3-point range and 3-for-5 from the free throw line, while adding four steals and three rebounds.
- Ace Baldwin Jr. scored a season-best 16 points to go along with six assists, three steals, and a pair of rebounds.
- Yanic Konan Niederhauser scored in double figures for the third consecutive game, tallying 11 points, along with seven boards, two assists, and a blocked shot.
- D’Marco Dunn also posted his third consecutive double-figure scoring effort to start the season, chipping in 10 points and three rebounds.
- Nebraska transfer Eli Rice made his first appearance as a Nittany Lion. Rice finished with two rebounds in the contest.
UP NEXT
- The Nittany Lions head to Baltimore Friday night to face Virginia Tech in the Hall of Fame Series Baltimore at CFG Bank Arena. Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. and the game will stream nationally on Peacock.
The 2024-25 Penn State men’s basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.