UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men’s basketball team put up 61 points and shot 71.9 percent from the field in the second half to battle back from a double-digit first-half deficit and defeat Purdue Fort Wayne, 102-89, Wednesday night inside the Bryce Jordan Center. The Nittany Lions are now 5-0 on the season.
Penn State trailed the Mastodons 47-36 with 1:27 left in the first half, but put together a 15-0 run spanning the final 1:11 of the first half and opening 1:52 of the second half. The Nittany Lions went on to shoot a blistering 71.9 percent (23-32) from the field and 64.3 percent (9-14) from 3-point range in the second half as Penn State outscored Purdue Fort Wayne 61-42 in the second term en route to the 102-89 victory.
Ace Baldwin Jr. was masterful yet again, finishing with 25 points, 11 assists, seven rebounds and two steals. He tallied 15 points and nine assists in the second half alone. Zach Hicks drilled five 3-pointers to finish with 17 points. Yanic Konan Niederhauser had a big double-double with 16 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks. Nick Kern Jr. was 5-for-6 from the field for 13 points, six rebounds and four assists. Freddie Dilione V and Puff Johnson tallied 11 points apiece to round out Penn State’s slew of double-digit scorers.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Konan Niederhauser scored Penn State’s first six points to help Penn State to an early 8-2 lead just under three minutes into the game.
- The Mastodons knotted the score at 8-8 and 13-13. Penn State went back up 17-13 at 11:51 following a Johnson layup, but PFW eventually took an 18-13 lead with 10:54 left in the first half.
- Penn State grabbed the advantage right back less than 20 seconds later and the lead exchanged hands six times over the next three minutes. The Mastodons pulled ahead at the 7:16 mark and held the lead for the remainder of the half, eventually using an 8-3 run to stretch their edge to as much as 11 at 47-36 with 1:27 left on the first-half clock.
- A Hicks triple and pair of Baldwin Jr. free throws ended the half as the Nittany Lions were able to keep PFW off the board for the final 1:26 of the term and pull within six at 47-41 heading into halftime.
- Baldwin Jr. took over the start the second half, drilling back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers, the last of which was a four-point play, as the Penn State defense forced three-straight PFW turnovers and the Nittany Lions quickly reclaimed the lead at 51-47 less than two minutes into the term.
- The Mastodons knotted the game again at 56-56 less than two minutes later and eventually pulled back in front at 62-61with 13:53 to play. Baldwin Jr. answered yet again with his fourth trey of the night to spark the game-defining run for the Nittany Lions. Penn State made its next eight shots, five of which were 3-pointers, as the Nittany Lions exploded for a 21-7 run over a six-minute stretch to put PFW in an 86-69 hole with 6:57 left on the clock.
- Purdue Fort Wayne wouldn’t get closer than nine the rest of the way as Penn State closed out the 102-89 win.
GAME NOTES
- Penn State is 5-0 to start the season for the first time since the 2019-20 campaign.
- Penn State has now recorded three 100-plus point games this season. It’s just the second time in program history that the Nittany Lions have put up 100+ in three games in the same season. The 1954-55 team scored 100+ on three occasions.
- With the 102-point effort tonight, the Nittany Lions have now scored 80-plus points in five-straight games for the first time in program history (108 vs. Binghamton, 103 vs. UMBC, 92 vs. St. Francis (Pa.), 86 vs. Virginia Tech and 102 vs. Purdue Fort Wayne).
- The Nittany Lions are now averaging 98.2 points per game through five games this season.
- Penn State’s 71.9 second-half field goal percentage marks the first time the Nittany Lions have shot 70 percent or better in a half since Nov. 10, 2022 when Penn State shot 70.4% against Loyola Maryland.
- Penn State shot 9-for-14 (64.3%) from deep in the second half after shooting just 2-for-11 (18.2%) from downtown in the first half.
- The Nittany Lions had 25 assists on 34 made field goals.
- Ace Baldwin Jr. tallied his second-consecutive double-double with 25 points, 11 assists, seven rebounds and two steals. It marks his first 20-plus point game of the season.
- Zach Hicks buried five 3-pointers for the second-straight game, finishing with 17 points. He’s shooting 50 percent (19-38) from 3-point range through five games this season while averaging 3.8 made 3s per game.
- Yanic Konan Niederhauser recorded his first double-double in a Penn State uniform, finishing with 16 points, 10 rebounds and a career high-tying five blocks.
UP NEXT
- The Nittany Lions head to Daytona Beach, Fla. Monday and Tuesday to compete in the Sunshine Slam. Action opens at 4 p.m. Monday vs. Fordham on CBS Sports Network. Penn State will then play either Clemson or San Francisco Tuesday at either 1:30 or 4 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
The 2024-25 Penn State men’s basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.