Balanced Attack Leads Penn State to Gritty 63-60 Win at WashingtonBalanced Attack Leads Penn State to Gritty 63-60 Win at Washington

Balanced Attack Leads Penn State to Gritty 63-60 Win at Washington

Box Score

SEATTLE – In a tightly contested back-and-forth affair, the Penn State men’s basketball team was able to overcome nine ties and 15 lead changes en route to a scrappy 63-60 win over the Washington Huskies on Wednesday night inside Alaska Airlines Arena.

The Nittany Lions utilized a balanced attack to pick up their first road win in Big Ten Conference play on the 2025-26 campaign, in addition to securing a victory in the program’s first-ever trip to Seattle. The late-night contest saw neither team manage a lead in excess of six points, with the game staying largely within one possession throughout all 40 minutes. PSU utilized a nine-man rotation and welcomed the return of redshirt sophomore guard Eli Rice in addition to junior forward Saša Ciani, who had both been limited due to injury in the past few weeks.

On the offensive end, Penn State called on four student-athletes to contribute double figures in the hard-fought road victory, with redshirt junior guard Freddie Dilione V leading the way with a team-high 16 points. The Fayetteville, North Carolina, native added two rebounds, an assist and a steal in 34 minutes of game action. Senior forward Josh Reed saw his ninth consecutive double-digit outing in Big Ten play in addition to his 10th-such performance in the last 11 outings with 14 points. Freshman guard Kayden Mingo poured in 13 points with a team-high trio of assists, and Rice celebrated his return to the court with 12 points on an ultra-efficient 4-for-6 performance from the field.

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • The Nittany Lions came away with the opening tip, but Washington managed to strike first with a stepback jumper. Mingo answered the bell right away with a triple on a feed from Dilione V, but a steal and transition bucket for the Huskies saw Washington jump right back in front. Buckets fell both ways over the ensuing minutes, but a triple saw UW book a 9-6 advantage through the under-16 timeout in the first half.
  • Washington remained in the lead as the team’s traded scores to the tune of a 15-12 lead with just under 13 minutes to play in the first. Back-to-back layups from Rice saw the Nittany Lions lurch ahead and force a Washington timeout following a 6-0 Penn State scoring stretch. PSU continued its momentum defensively and led by as many as five points at 20-15, but Washington mustered consecutive makes and an and-one free throw to deadlock the game at 20 apiece at the under-eight.
  • Washington made it an 8-0 scoring run and took a 23-20 lead with 6:53 left in the first half, but the Blue & White answered right back with a basket from Reed in the painted area. The opening stanza remained competitive as time continued to wind down, but a basket from Dilione V and a right-wing transition triple from Rice put PSU ahead by four with less than four to go. The Nittany Lions continued to manage their four-point edge, taking a timeout with a 33-29 advantage at the 1:51 mark. The Blue & White ultimately took a 35-32 lead into the intermission.
  • UW immediately opened the second half with a transition triple to tie things up at 35 and utilized a pair of free throws moments later to lurch back in front. Reed underwent a personal 8-2 scoring run over the following two minutes to guide PSU to a 43-39 edge at the under-16. The squads traded blows over the next few minutes with the Nittany Lions able to maintain their four-point advantage with just over 10 minutes left to play in Wednesday night’s matchup.
  • The Huskies connected on an and-one to trim the Penn State lead back to two points and added a triple around a minute later to cap off a quick 6-0 scoring run to briefly re-take the lead. Rice split a trip to the line to deadlock the game at 49-all with 8:32 to play, and a pair of makes for each team at the stripe culminated in a 51-51 tie at the under-eight media break of the second half.
  • Washington drained a triple to break the tie, but a personal 4-0 response from Dilione V saw the lead change hands once more. Action rolled on with yet another lead change in Washington’s favor, with the home squad able to carry a 59-57 lead under the three-minute mark. Consecutive buckets from Dilione V and Mingo saw the Nittany Lions seize control once again, and the Blue & White were able to play the free throw game with their hosts to preserve their advantage for good, culminating in the 63-60 final score.

GAME NOTES

  • Penn State picked up its first Big Ten Conference road win on the 2025-26 season and improved to 11-14 overall with a 2-12 mark against B1G foes. Washington drops to 12-13 overall and 4-10 in Big Ten opportunities.
  • The Nittany Lions were victorious in their first-ever trip to Seattle, picking up the program’s first win over the Huskies in program history. Both matchups between Penn State and Washington have gone to the road team, with each game being decided by three points or fewer.
  • Wednesday night’s matchup inside Alaska Airlines Arena featured nine ties and 15 lead changes, with neither team managing a lead greater than six points.
  • The Blue & White managed to decisively outshoot their opponent from the field on Wednesday, with Penn State shooting at a 48 percent clip while limiting UW to a paltry 38 percent efficiency. PSU shot better than its opponent from the field for the 12th time in the 2025-26 season and improved to 10-2 when doing so this year.
  • Penn State secured its first road victory in Big Ten Conference competition since mustering an 86-75 win over then-No. 12 Wisconsin in Madison on March 8, 2025.
  • Redshirt junior guard Freddie Dilione V had his fifth-straight performance scoring 10 points or more in Big Ten Conference play, with the Fayetteville, North Carolina, native leading the way with a team-high 16 points on 50 percent efficiency from the field. Dilione V led Penn State in scoring for the ninth time in 2025-26.
  • Senior forward Josh Reed continued his torrid stretch of individual performances with his ninth consecutive double-digit scoring effort, 10th in the last 11 games and 15th such outing on the 2025-26 campaign. The Atlanta native finished with 14 points on 5-for-10 shooting from the field with a pair of makes from 3-point range, six rebounds, two steals and a block in 35 minutes of work.
  • Freshman guard Kayden Mingo scored in double figures for the first time since dropping 14 against Minnesota on February 1, logging 13 points with six rebounds and three assists. The Farmingdale, New York, native led PSU in assists for the 15th time this season.
  • Redshirt sophomore guard Eli Rice returned to action for the first time since an appearance against Minnesota on February 1, with the Gallatin, Tennessee, native responding by dropping double figures for the 10th time in the 2025-26 season. Rice logged 12 points on an ultra-efficient 4-for-6 clip from the field with two rebounds and a block in 27 minutes.
  • Penn State utilized the starting lineup of Jurić, Mingo, Dilione V, Stewart and Reed for the second consecutive game, moving to 1-1 overall when doing so.

UP NEXT

  • The Nittany Lions wrap up their Pacific Northwest road swing Saturday at Oregon. Tipoff from Eugene, Ore. is slated for 3 p.m. ET/noon PT on Big Ten Network.