PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The Penn State men’s basketball team trimmed a 17-point second-half deficit down to two in the final minutes, but fell just short as Rutgers handed Penn State an 80-76 loss Tuesday night at Jersey Mike’s Arena.
Zach Hicks led Penn State with 20 points behind six 3-pointers. Freddie Dilione V followed with 14 points, while Nick Kern Jr. tallied 10 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Penn State held an early 7-2 lead just 2:02 into the game on the back of five points from Zach Hicks. The Scarlet Knights used 11-unanswered points to pull ahead 13-7 before back-to-back Nick Kern Jr. layups snapped the Rutgers streak and put the score at 13-11 with 12:56 left in the first half.
- The score sat at 17-15 just over a minute before Rutgers used a 12-2 run over a four-minute stretch to pull ahead 29-17 at 7:21.
- The Nittany Lions were within seven following triples from Hicks and Ace Baldwin Jr. that put the score at 33-26 with 5:14 left, but the Scarlet Knights scored 15 of the final 22 points of the half to take a 48-33 lead into halftime.
- Rutgers scored the first basket of the second half before Freddie Dilione V rattled off seven unanswered points in less than a minute to force a Rutgers timeout as Penn State quickly trimmed a 17-point deficit down to 10 at 50-40 at 18:35.
- The Scarlet Knights were back up 15 at 59-44, but Hicks answered with five-straight points and D’Marco Dunn followed with a triple to comprise an 8-0 run and pull the Nittany Lions within seven at 59-52 with 13:16 to play.
- A 9-4 stretch by Rutgers put them back up by 15 at the 14:33 mark of the second half, but Penn State caught fire, stringing together eight-straight points in a 54-second span to cut the Scarlet Knight lead down to seven points.
- Back-and-forth scoring through the seven-minute mark kept the margin hovering around ten points. Dilione V added another five points to his total during the stretch.
- A triple by Hicks and a Johnson layup cut the lead down to six points, the slimmest margin since the 10:52 mark of the first half.
- Following a Rutgers basket, Penn State got two free throws and the sixth three of the ballgame from Hicks to trim the Scarlet Knight advantage to just three points with 3:27 still on the clock.
- Penn State played tough defense, but could not convert a field goal in the final two minutes, falling to Rutgers 80-76.
GAME NOTES
- Penn State won the turnover battle against the Scarlet Knights, committing just six turnovers compared to Rutgers’ 14.
- Zach Hicks connected on a Big Ten career high-tying six threes against the Scarlet Knights. It is the third time this season he has posted five-plus threes in a game. Hicks finished with 20 points in the game, also tying his career high in Big Ten games. The senior added six boards, three assists, and a pair of steals in a stellar effort.
- Freddie Dilione V tallied 14 points against the Scarlet Knights, his third-straight double-figure scoring effort. The redshirt sophomore scored all 14 in the second half. He added three assists, a rebound, and a steal to his final line.
- Nick Kern Jr. posted ten points and seven rebounds as the third Nittany Lion in double figures against Rutgers.
UP NEXT
- Penn State returns home to continue non-conference play Saturday when the Nittany Lions host Coppin State at 12:30 p.m. inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
The 2024-25 Penn State men’s basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.