UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men’s basketball team moved to 7-1 on the season as the Nittany Lions shot 70.4 percent in the second half to race past Buffalo, 87-64, Sunday afternoon inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
The Nittany Lions shot 70.4 percent (19-27) from the field and 66.7 percent (6-9) from 3-point range in the second half as Penn State turned a 10-point halftime lead into a 23-point win in the final frame.
Yanic Konan Niederhauser went off for a career high-tying 27 points behind a stellar 12-for-16 showing from the field, including seven dunks. Freddie Dilione V tallied a career-best 16 points to go along with four assists. Ace Baldwin Jr. orchestrated masterfully with a game-high 10 assists. Nick Kern Jr. also finished in double figures with 12 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Nittany Lion defense forced five Buffalo turnovers in the first eight minutes of play to help overcome a cold-shooting start. Five-straight points from D’Marco Dunn helped Penn State turn a two-point edge into an 11-6 lead with 11:34 left on the first-half clock.
- The Nittany Lions allowed just one Buffalo field goal from the 17:32 mark to the nine-minute mark as Kern Jr. and Puff Johnson added baskets to put the Penn State advantage at 15-6 as the clock wound under nine.
- The Bulls pulled within four at 18-14 before five points from Dilione V and a Konan Niederhauser dunk had Penn State back up nine at 25-16 with 5:39 remaining in the opening term.
- The Nittany Lions continued to build their lead, working it to as much as 12 following a Baldwin Jr. 3-pointer at 1:01 that made it 36-24, before taking a 38-28 advantage into halftime.
- The Bulls had the first basket of the second stanza, but Dilione V and Konan Niederhauser nailed back-to-back triples to force a Buffalo timeout at 16:59 as the Nittany Lions took their largest lead yet at 44-31.
- Penn State put together a 10-0 run over a 1:15 stretch from 14:33 to 13:18 that started with a Kern Jr. layup and ended with six-straight Konan Niederhauser points as the Nittany Lions pulled ahead by 19 at 55-36.
- Buffalo put together a 14-3 run over a two-minute stretch to trim Penn State’s lead down to 10 at 64-54 with 7:55 to play before Kachi Nzeh answered with a dunk that sparked a 12-1 Nittany Lion spurt over the next 3:49. Dilione V scored eight points during the streak as Penn State pulled ahead by 21 at 76-55 with just under four minutes to play.
- The Nittany Lions would lead by as much as 26 in the final minutes as Penn State moved to 7-1 on the season with its 87-64 win.
GAME NOTES
- Penn State now improves to 7-1 on the season, its best start to a season since the 2019-20 team also began 7-1.
- Penn State has scored 85+ points in seven of its eight games this season. The Nittany Lions are averaging 91.3 points per game, a mark that ranks top 10 in Division I.
- The Nittany Lions have now won eight-straight home games dating back to last season.
- Penn State shot 70.4 percent (19-27) from the field in the second half after a 45.7 percent (16-25) first-half clip. It marks the second time this season that the Nittany Lions have shot upwards of 70 percent in the half.
- Penn State had 23 assists on 35 made field goals.
- The Nittany Lions scored 52 of their 87 points in the paint.
- Yanic Konan Niederhauser tied his career high with 27 points while shooting 75 percent (12-16) from the field. It marked his first 20-plus point game as a Nittany Lion.
- Freddie Dilione V scored a career-high 16 points, besting his previous high of 11 points.
- Ace Baldwin Jr. dished double-digit assists for the fourth time this season. He ranks top five in the country in assists per game (8.4 apg).
- Nick Kern Jr. notched his sixth double-digit scoring effort of the season with his 12 points.
- Zach Hicks finished a game-high +27 in +/-.
UP NEXT
- The Nittany Lions open Big Ten play at home Thursday night when Penn State hosts #13 Purdue inside the Bryce Jordan Center. Tipoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. on FS1.
The 2024-25 Penn State men’s basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.