UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Stellar late-game execution and a career-high 25 points from senior Josh Reed led the Penn State men’s basketball team to a 71-69 win over Iowa Saturday afternoon inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
The Penn State defense clamped down in the game’s final minutes, as the Hawkeyes scored just two points in the final 4:29 of play. Freddie Dilione V made a pair of game-winning free throws with 1.5 seconds to play to seal the victory in a back-and-forth battle that saw 15 lead changes and eight tie scores.
Reed was masterful, finishing with a career-best 25 points on 9-of-12 shooting, four assists and three rebounds. Dilione V followed with 15 points, including the game-winning free throws, five rebounds and two assists. Freshman big man Ivan Jurić finished with 11 points and a game-high eight rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- A Freddie Dilione V triple and baskets from Josh Reed and Ivan Jurić provided Penn State’s points through the first media timeout as Iowa held a slim 9-7 lead just under five minutes into the game.
- The Hawkeyes pulled ahead 13-7 before Dominick Stewart and Dilione V drilled back-to-back triples that evened the score at 13-13. Dilione V followed with his third 3-pointer of the game to make it a 9-0 PSU run that put the Nittany Lions ahead 16-13 with 12:41 left on the first-half clock.
- Iowa punched right back with the next eight points to reclaim a five-point lead at 21-16 midway through the opening term. Penn State knotted the score again at 21-21 following a pair of Kayden Mingo free throws and a Josh Reed trey at 8:48.
- The remainder of the first half saw six lead changes, one tie score and neither team lead by more than three until the final seconds. The Hawkeyes scored the final five points of the opening stanza to take a 38-34 lead into the break.
- Iowa took its largest lead yet shortly into the second half as the Hawkeyes extended their advantage to seven at 43-36 less than two minutes in the term. Five points from Jurić and back-to-back Reed buckets helped the Nittany Lions respond with nine of the game’s next 11 as Penn State evened the score once again at 45-45 with 15:08 to play.
- A Mingo 3-pointer from the top of the key made it a 12-2 Penn State run at 13:59 as Penn State took back the lead for the first time since 4:19 of the first half, 48-45.
- The back-and-forth action resumed as the lead continued to change hands over the next four minutes and neither team led by more than three points until a Jurić tip-in was followed by five-straight Reed points and the Nittany Lions led 60-56 at the under-8 media timeout.
- The Hawkeyes strung together a 9-0 stretch from 6:52 to 4:30 to jump back on top, 67-62.
- The Nittany Lions held Iowa scoreless for the next three minutes and Reed capitalized from the free throw line, making four-straight freebies to pull Penn State within one at 67-66 with 1:30 left on the clock.
- Reed scored a go-ahead bucket with 46 seconds to play and grabbed a huge rebound on an Iowa missed shot on the Hawkeyes’ next possession. Tunca added a free throw at 19 seconds to make it 69-67 Penn State.
- Iowa called a timeout with 13.6 on the clock and Hawkeye leading scorer Bennett Stertz tied the game with a layup with 8.6 seconds to play, marking Iowa’s first points in over four minutes.
- The Nittany Lions got the ball with 8.6 on the clock, and Dilione V drove through the lane and drew contact before hitting the two game-winning free throws with 1.5 seconds to play to seal Penn State’s 71-69 victory.
GAME NOTES
- Penn State improves to 12-17 overall and 3-15 in Big Ten play. The Hawkeyes fall to 20-9 on the season and 10-8 in conference play.
- Penn State improves to 16-10 all-time when playing Iowa in Happy Valley and the Nittany Lions have now won four-straight home matchups with the Hawkeyes.
- Penn State finished the game shooting 64.1 percent from the field, highlighted by a 72.2 percent clip in the second half.
- The Nittany Lions defense limited the Hawkeyes to a 45.6 FG% and 32.1 3FG%.
- Senior Josh Reed set a career high with his 25-point performance, besting his previous career high of 22 that was set 10 days ago against Rutgers (Feb. 18). He scored in double figures for the 13th-straight game and 19th time this season. Reed had just seven career double-digit scoring games through his three seasons at Cincinnati prior to coming to Penn State for the 2025-26 season.
- Redshirt junior Freddie Dilione V finished with 15 points, marking his 22nd game in double figures this season.
- Freshman Ivan Jurić finished with 11 points and tallied his 12th double-digit scoring game of his rookie campaign. He grabbed eight rebounds, leading the Nittany Lions in rebounding for the 12th game this year.
UP NEXT
- Penn State plays its final home game of the regular season Wednesday night when the Nittany Lions host Ohio State on Senior Night presented by the Penn State Alumni Association. Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. on Peacock.