ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The Penn State men’s basketball team was unable to hand Michigan its first home loss of the season as the Nittany Lions dropped a tough 76-72 road game at the Crisler Center Monday night.
Nick Kern Jr. led Penn State with a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double. Ace Baldwin Jr. finished with 15 points and six assists, while D’Marco Dunn tallied 13 points
HOW IT HAPPENED
- An Ace Baldwin Jr. 3-pointer and four Nittany Lion free throws had the score tied at 7-7 just over three minutes into the game.
- Michigan answered with 10 of the game’s next 14 points to pull ahead 17-11 at 14:24 before a D’Marco Dunn corner triple sparked a 6-0 Penn State run over a 50 second stretch to knot the score at 17-17.
- Neither team led by more than four for the remainder of the half. Michigan was up 35-31 with 1:15 left in the term, but a Zach Hicks layup and pair of Nick Kern Jr. free throws ended the half to knot the score at 35-35. Penn State owned a 20-9 rebound advantage and 10-2 edge in second-chance points during the first half, but the Wolverines drilled six 3-pointers at a 40.0 percent clip as the teams went into the locker rooms deadlocked.
- The Nittany Lions surged ahead 40-37 following a Freddie Dilione V corner 3-pointer a minute into the second half, but Michigan responded with a 10-0 stretch over the next three minutes to pull ahead 47-40.
- A Kachi Nzeh bucket snapped the streak at the 15:18 mark, but Michigan’s lead stayed between five and eight points for the next five minutes until a Kern Jr. layup was followed by a Baldwin Jr. trey at 10:34 that had Penn State back within three at 57-54.
- The Wolverines were back up seven at 64-57, but Penn State snapped right back with a 10-1 run over a two-and-a-half-minute stretch. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Dunn and Hicks capped the streak that gave Penn State a 67-65 advantage with 4:24 to play.
- The Nittany Lion defense stepped up to hold Michigan scoreless for over two minutes after the Wolverines knotted the score at 67. Dilione V canned a 3-pointer and Baldwin Jr. followed with a pair of free throws to put Penn State’s lead at 5 at 72-67 with 2:08 left on the clock.
- The Wolverines scored the final nine points of the game, however, as Michigan’s Tre Donaldson scored the last seven in the final minute, and the Wolverines walked away with the 76-72 victory.
GAME NOTES
- Penn State falls to 13-8 overall and 3-7 in Big Ten play.
- The Nittany Lions were unable to hand Michigan its first home loss of the season as the Wolverines are now 10-0 inside the Crisler Center.
- Penn State shot 49.0 percent (25-51) from the field, 47.4 percent (9-19) from 3-point range and 81.3 percent (13-16) from the free throw line.
- Nick Kern Jr. tallied his second double-double of the season, finishing with a team-best 16 points and 10 rebounds.
- Ace Baldwin Jr. tallied his 15th double-digit scoring game of the year, finishing with 15 points, six assists and three steals.
- D’Marco Dunn scored in double figures for the sixth time this season.
UP NEXT
- The Nittany Lions return home Thursday night for Penn State’s Return to Rec game vs. Ohio State. Tipoff from Rec Hall is slated for 6:30 p.m. and the game will air nationally on FS1.
The 2024-25 Penn State men’s basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.