UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men’s basketball team pulled away in the final 10 minutes for a key 80-72 Big Ten win over Rutgers Monday evening inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
Penn State outscored Rutgers 30-19 in the final 9:23 in a tight back-and-forth game that saw 13 lead changes. The Nittany Lions shot 46.7 percent (10-21) from 3-point range and 81.5 percent (22-27) from the free throw line in the win.
Ace Baldwin Jr. led Penn State with 22 points, eight assists and five steals. Yanic Konan Niederhauser had his best conference game thus far, finishing with 18 points and six rebounds. Nick Kern Jr. tallied 16 points and six rebounds, while Freddie Dilione V added 12 points behind a perfect 4-for-4 showing from 3-point range.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Rutgers got out to a 6-0 lead before Yanic Konan Niederhauser put Penn State’s first two points on the board with a layup at the 17:35 mark.
- The Scarlet Knights pulled ahead 11-5 before triples from Zach Hicks and Freddie Dilione V had Penn State within two at 13-11 with 12:28 left in the opening frame.
- Dilone V drilled his third triple of the night at the 11:13 mark to knot the score at 16-16 and force an early Rutgers timeout.
- The Nittany Lions took their first lead of the night at the 8:04 mark as an Ace Baldwin Jr. 3-pointer capped an 8-2 Penn State run that put the Nittany Lions in front 24-22.
- The lead changed hands six times in the remainder of the half, with neither team leading by more than four. Baldwin Jr.’s second 3-pointer of the night was the last basket of the half as he gave the Nittany Lions a 37-35 edge heading into the locker room.
- A Niederhauser dunk opened the second stanza and Penn State controlled the lead through the first three-plus minutes until an Ace Bailey layup at 16:12 put Rutgers back in front 44-43.
- The Scarlet Knights owned a 47-43 advantage two minutes later, but Penn State grabbed the lead right back as Dilione V buried his fourth 3-pointer of the night and Baldwin Jr. followed with a fastbreak layup to make it 48-47 Penn State with 13:12 to play.
- Rutgers regained the lead 45 seconds later and held onto it until four-straight Nick Kern Jr. points, another Baldwin Jr. triple and two Konan Niederhauser buckets comprised an 11-0 Nittany Lion streak over a 3:19 stretch and gave Penn State took its largest lead yet at 61-53 with 6:17 left on the clock.
- Rutgers got within six at 66-55 and 63-57 before Penn State responded with a pair of Baldwin Jr. free throws and a Niederhauser layup that put Penn State ahead by 10 at 67-57 with 4:18 to play.
- The Scarlet Knights scored 10 of the next 12 points and suddenly pulled within two at 69-67 with 1:52 left on the clock.
- A Konan Niederhauser free throw and a Kern Jr. layup had Penn State’s lead back at five at the 1:03 mark. Kern Jr. pulled down a big rebound on the ensuing possession and followed with a pair of free throws to put the score at 74-67.
- Rutgers’ Ace Bailey hit shots that pulled the Scarlet Knights within 74-70 with 36 seconds to play and 75-72 with 21 seconds to play before committing his second technical foul of the night and sending Baldwin Jr. to the free throw line. Penn State closed the game from the charity stripe, going 5-for-6 from the free throw line in the final 21 seconds to seal the 80-72 victory.
GAME NOTES
- The Nittany Lions improve to 13-6 overall and 3-5 in Big Ten play.
- Penn State is now 10-1 in home games in the Bryce Jordan Center this season.
- Penn State earned its 300th win inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
- The Nittany Lions snapped a four-game losing streak.
- Penn State improves to 30-11 when playing Rutgers in Happy Valley.
- The Nittany Lions shot a season-high 47.6 percent (10-21) from 3-point range.
- Penn State started the game 6-for-8 from 3-point range (75.0%) through the first 15 minutes of play and finished the opening half 7-for-12 (58.3%) from deep.
- Ace Baldwin Jr. tallied his fifth overall and second-straight 20-plus point game of the season, finishing with team-high marks of 22 points, eight assists and five steals.
- Konan Niederhauser finished the game with 18 points, a new Big Ten career-best for the Nittany Lion and his second-straight double-digit scoring effort.
- Nick Kern Jr. was perfect from the field, going 4-for-4 from the floor and 7-for-8 from the free throw line on his way to 16 points.
- Freddie Dilione V canned all four of his 3-point attempts, scoring 12 points while hauling in two rebounds, four assists and two steals.
UP NEXT
- The Nittany Lions are back on the road for their next two games, taking on Iowa Friday night at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT before traveling to Michigan for a 6:30 p.m. Monday night matchup.
The 2024-25 Penn State men’s basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.