UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men’s basketball team dropped an 83-64 decision to Ohio State Thursday night inside Rec Hall.
The Nittany Lions battled back in the final minutes of the first half in front of a raucous Rec Hall crowd, but fell victim to a choppy second half they dropped the home contest.
Yanic Konan Niederhauser led all scorers with 21 points, a career-best mark in Big Ten games. The big man added five rebounds and a blocked shot to his final line. Zach Hicks connected on three 3-pointers on his way to 13 points, five rebounds, a blocked shot, and an assist.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Penn State controlled the opening tip and scored the first basket of the game before Ohio State scored 11 of the next 15 to go up 11-6 six minutes into the game.
- A D’Marco Dunn triple cut the Ohio State lead to two, but the Buckeyes went on a 10-3 stretch to go up nine at the 8:24 mark of the opening half.
- A poster dunk from Yanic Konan Niederhauser and a transition triple from Zach Hicks on consecutive possessions brought the Rec Hall crowd to its feet and got Penn State back to within four at 23-19.
- Ohio State stretched its advantage to 15 points with 1:08 on the clock in the first half before a 3-pointer from Baldwin Jr. and another big-time dunk from Konan Niederhauser gave the Nittany Lions life entering halftime down 43-33.
- A pair of threes from Hicks in the early going of the second half trimmed the advantage down to six points, but Ohio State responded with a 5-0 stretch to go up 50-39 with 17:15 to play.
- Penn State continued to battle but Ohio State responded to each scoring stretch as it extended its lead to a game-high 20 points with 5:32 on the clock despite the Nittany Lions holding the Buckeyes without a field goal for over three minutes of game time.
- Penn State could not get shots to fall in the final five minutes and fell 83-64.
GAME NOTES
- Yanic Konan Niederhauser tallied a Big Ten career-best 21 points against the Buckeyes on Thursday in his second 20-plus-point effort of the season. The Nittany Lion big man added five rebounds and one blocked shot to his final line.
- Zach Hicks connected on three triples on his way to 13 points. He also secured five rebounds in the contest.
- Ace Baldwin Jr. and Nick Kern Jr. added ten points apiece with Baldwin Jr. dishing out six assists and Kern Jr. picking up four.
UP NEXT
- The Nittany Lions return to the Bryce Jordan Center Tuesday night to host Minnesota at 7 p.m. on Academic Achievement Night and Faculty Appreciation Night. The game will air nationally on Big Ten Network.
The 2024-25 Penn State men’s basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.