UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men’s basketball team dropped a 71-60 result to the UCLA Bruins on Wednesday night in the first-ever meeting of the two programs inside the Bryce Jordan Center. The game marked the second matchup between the teams as Big Ten Conference opponents, and just the third meeting all-time.
PSU was anchored by a trio of double-digit point scorers in the midweek matchup, with sophomore guard Dominick Stewart leading the way with 16 points, his highest-scoring performance in a Big Ten Conference matchup this season. Stewart, a native of Ocean Springs, Mississippi, hauled in five rebounds and added a trio of assists on the night to match the team high in the category. Redshirt sophomore guard Eli Rice contributed 14 points with a career-high-tying pair of steals, senior forward Josh Reed added 12 points on 3-for-4 shooting with a 6-for-6 night at the free throw line, and freshman forward Ivan Jurić neared double-double territory for the second-straight game, finishing with nine points and nine rebounds.
Penn State’s leading scorer on the season Freddie Dilione V (15.0 ppg) exited the game with an injury late in the first half, while the Nittany Lions played their third-straight game without standout rookie guard Kayden Mingo (14.9 ppg) and second-straight game without Tibor Mirtič (3.7 ppg) due to injuries.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Blue & White hauled in the opening tip, but both teams failed to score on their opening possession. Jurić blew through the lane on PSU’s second trip down the floor and got Wednesday night’s scoring started with an emphatic slam over a Bruin defender. Continued dominance down low from Jurić helped power the Nittany Lions to a 6-2 advantage by the game’s first media intermission.
- After UCLA rattled off seven quick points, Mason Blackwood made a solid move inside the arc and worked for a crafty runner to make it a one-point game. A pair of jumpers from Rice answered a hot streak from UCLA, and the score would deadlock at 13-apiece by the 10:22 mark of the first half. Out of the game’s second media break, the Nittany Lions worked a seamless baseline out-of-bounds play to take the lead at 15-13.
- Both squads traded blows to the tune of a 17-all affair, but a quick 6-0 burst from the Nittany Lions bolstered by stellar defensive effort and baskets from Stewart and Reed saw PSU build up a four-point edge. UCLA halted the Penn State run with a tip-in layup and snapped off a 12-0 scoring run to take a 29-21 lead with less than two to play in the first. A pair of makes at the charity stripe from Melih Tunca in the waning seconds made it a 29-23 UCLA lead through 20 minutes.
- Penn State roared out of the locker room with a left-corner triple from Tunca and a left-handed runner from Reed that cut the UCLA lead to one point. After exchanging baskets over the next few minutes, Rice became the first Nittany Lions in double digits with a 3-pointer from the right corner. The Bruins grew their lead back to five points, but a basket and pair of makes at the free throw line from Reed made it a 38-37 game with 15:30 to go.
- Back-to-back triples from UCLA saw the Bruin lead balloon to seven points, but a driving layup from Jurić kept PSU in the hunt. UCLA connected on an and-one opportunity moments later, but Penn State rattled off a 7-0 scoring stretch capped off by an and-one from Stewart to make it a one-point game at the 12:30 mark. Stewart nailed a late clock step-back triple to give PSU a brief lead, but UCLA answered with a right-corner 3-ball to make it 50-49 UCLA at the under-12.
- A slew of offensive boards saw the Bruins notch a second-chance jumper on the other side of the break, a score that would ultimately materialize into an 8-1 run and 58-50 UCLA advantage with less than eight to play. The Bruin lead grew to 13 points at the 3:16 mark, with the visitors boasting a 67-54 edge. Penn State continued to battle down the stretch, with Reed and Rice adding tallies from the charity stripe, but the Blue & White were ultimately unable to overcome their west coast opponents in a 71-60 UCLA victory.
GAME NOTES
- Penn State dropped to 9-8 overall and 0-6 in Big Ten Conference matchups, while UCLA im-proved to 12-5 and 4-2 overall in league play.
- The Penn State defense forced UCLA into 14 turnovers on the night, leading to 12 points on the other end. It was the 12th time this season the Blue & White forced more turnovers than they conceded.
- Down low, the Nittany Lions recorded 28 points in the paint against 16 for the Bruins.
- PSU was able to push the tempo, leading to a 13-2 advantage in fast break points.
- Penn State shot a season-high free throw percentage, going 16-of-17 behind the stripe (94.1%).
- Sophomore guard Dominick Stewart led the Nittany Lions in points and tied redshirt junior guard Freddie Dilione V and freshman guard Melih Tunca for the team-high in assists. He finished the contest with 16 points, just two shy of his career-high, as well as five boards and three assists.
- Redshirt sophomore guard Eli Rice notched 14 points on two made 3-pointers to go along with a team-high two steals. It was his seventh outing scoring in double figures, including four of his last five games.
- Senior forward Josh Reed posted 12 points, three rebounds in addition to a steal. Reed converted all six of his free throw attempts.
- Penn State’s leading rebounder was freshman forward Ivan Jurić, who hauled in nine rebounds. He added nine points and an assist on the night.
UP NEXT
- Penn State hits the road in Big Ten play once again this Sunday, January 18, as the Nittany Lions face off against the Maryland Terrapins. Tipoff from the XFINITY Center is slated for Noon (ET) on the Big Ten Network.