Penn State men’s basketball (4-5, 0-1 Big Ten) was defeated by Maryland (5-4, 1-1 Big Ten) 81-75, extending the Nittany Lions’ losing streak to five. It was a back-and-forth conference-opening game for the Nittany Lions, who needed overtime to decide the winner. Ultimately, the loss of Qudus Wahab and Demetrius Lilley to fouls was the largest factor as Penn State couldn’t rebound and had no answer for Maryland forward Julian Reese.

Kanye Clary led the way with 25 points, and Ace Baldwin Jr. looked impressive, adding 16 points. For Maryland Jahmir Young and Reese led the way scoring 28 and 24 points, respectively.

How It Happened

A steal on the opening possession by Zach Hicks led to the Nittany Lions’ first bucket. Young made his presence known early with a pull-up jumper for his first basket of the game.

After a missed three from Baldwin, a great rebound from Puff Johnson resulted in Clary’s first make of the game. Reese answered with a hook shot to cut the deficit back down to one point, before Nick Kern Jr.’s driving layup. Young and Clary traded steals before Clary drove into the lane for two points as the teams entered the first media timeout.

Out of the timeout, Jordan Geronimo tried to sneak a layup passed Kern but was rejected, however, he got his own rebound and made his second-chance layup. Back down to a one-possession game, a great pass from Clary found Demetrius Lilley for two points.

The great passes continued as Kern found Wahab wide open in the paint for a slam dunk followed by another tough make layup by Clary, which caused Maryland’s head coach Kevin Willard to call his first timeout.

Clary’s hot hand continued after the break with a turnaround jumper, and Hicks kept the run going with the first three-pointer of the game for the Nittany Lions to jump to an 11-point victory.

With just under nine minutes to go in the first half, the Terrapins finally woke up and went on a 7-0 run. It started with a long three from Young and a second chance layup from Reese before Young scored again to cut the deficit to four for Maryland.

After three minutes of no scoring, Baldwin and Kern woke the Nittany Lions up with an emphatic alley-oop dunk.

Nick Kern Jr… AGAIN pic.twitter.com/wKwz5ONYEq

— Onward State (@OnwardState) December 7, 2023

Rayquawndis Mitchell fouled Young on a three-pointer and drilled all three free throws to make it a one-possession game once again. Things began to get chippy between both teams after a fight for the ball turned into a near altercation between Baldwin and Jahari Long, which resulted in technicals for both players.

After the foul calls, Clary avenged his teammate with another highlight play for the Nittany Lions: with a nasty step-back three that broke Long’s ankles, dropping him to the floor.

Kanye the Kid pic.twitter.com/3IRthDLLdo

— Onward State (@OnwardState) December 7, 2023

Down five, Jamie Kaiser Jr. changed the score quickly with two free throws and a three-pointer on the next possession to tie the game at 25. Kern made a layup on the next possession that regained the lead for Penn State, and two free throws by Clary made it a four-point lead for the Nittany Lions.

In the final minute of the half, Long drilled a long three to get it back down to a one-point game. Kern went one-for-two on a pair of free throws before the half, which held a 30-28 lead for Penn State heading into the locker room.

At the start of the second half, the Terrapins took their first lead of the game after back-to-back makes by Reese and Geronimo for the first lead of the game for Maryland. That lead was short-lived as Baldwin drilled his first three-pointer of the game.

Reese and Wahab traded jumpers as Penn State held a one-point lead. Maryland went back out in front after Young got an and-one layup and free throw. Clary tied things up at 37 with a pull-up jumper, and Mitchell made one-of-two free throws for the lead.

After back-and-forth misses from both teams, Clary sniped a long three to extend the lead back to four, and the Terrapins called a timeout. Out of the break, Penn State set up a great play that found Hicks open for three that extended the lead to seven.

Two pairs of free throws by Maryland brought the game back down to a three-point game before another Wahab slam to once again wake up the Nittany Lions. Deshawn Harris-Smith entered the stat sheet, with a driving layup, however, Hicks answered back with his third three-pointer of the game.

Maryland didn’t go quiet, and Reese made a tough jumper and Young drilled another three-pointer to get back down to a one-point game, however, the Terrapins retook the lead after two free throws from Kaiser. The lead grew to two after Reese went one-for-two from the line.

Down two points, the Nittany Lions needed a bucket after missing five in a row, and Baldwin found Kern under the hoop to end the scoreless drought and tie the game. Maryland went right down the floor, and Reese got an and-one layup and free throw to go back up three points.

Penn State went down the floor and Baldwin found Leo O’Boyle for a long three and on the shot the forward was fouled. O’Boyle finished the four-point play which gave the Nittany Lions the lead once again. Reese and Baldwin traded pairs of free throws before a Donta Scott put the Terrapins back out in front.

Clary knocked down a pair of free throws for the lead again, and Wahab was called for his fifth foul of the night, knocking him out of the game with just over four minutes to go in the game. Reese drilled both his free throws yet again, however, Baldwin answered back with a driving layup to make it 61-60 in favor of Penn State.

The lead wouldn’t last long as Kaiser drilled a three to go up by two. With just over two minutes left in regulation, Kern found O’Boyle again for his second triple of the night and the lead once again. Young didn’t let that lead last, making a hook shot for the lead, and after a Clary missed three, drilled two free to extend the lead to three.

Down one possession, Baldwin got fouled and made both free throws to get it back down to a one-point deficit. On the ensuing Maryland possession, Young was fouled again and made both of his free throws to make a three-point lead once again.

Clary drove down the floor, went to the hole, made a tough floater, and was fouled on the shot. He finished the three-point play to tie the game at 69. With 40 seconds left in the game, Maryland had possession, and Reese was fouled, but he made only one of two free throws to make it a one-point game.

On the Nittany Lions’ offensive possession, the ball went into Clary’s hands and his pull-up jumper was unsuccessful and rebounded by Maryland. Penn State fouled, but Harris-Smith went one-for-two from the line making it a two-point game with 4.6 seconds to go.

On the inbound, O’Boyle’s pass to Baldwin was interrupted by Long and a foul was called. Baldwin drilled both free throws to tie the game at 71. Maryland wouldn’t score after its inbound and the game went into overtime.

At the start of overtime, Maryland got one of two free throws from Harris-Smith for the lead and a made jumper by Young put them up three. Scott followed that up with his second bucket of the game to make it a five-point lead for the Terrapins.

With over three minutes gone in overtime, Penn State was without a point and finally scored with two free throws from Baldwin. After a nice defensive stop, Clary scored two more free throws to cut it back down to a one-point game.

Maryland went down the floor and put the nail in the coffin as Harris-Smith got an and-one layup and free throw. Then, Maryland got a huge stop, forcing Penn State to foul. The Terrapins drilled both free throws, and Penn State was out of time, falling to the Terrapins 81-75.

Takeaways

• It’s another loss for the Nittany Lions, who fall to under .500 for the first time this year. Despite the loss, the Nittany Lions fought the entire game, taking the Terrapins to the limit, playing essentially the final 10 minutes of the game without a true center.
• Kanye Clary, welcome back. While the point guard hasn’t missed any games due to the stinger he suffered in the VCU game, the point guard struggled in the recent loss to Bucknell scoring only four points. The sophomore dropped 25 points and added four rebounds and two assists.
• Ace Baldwin Jr. added 16 points in the loss, still struggling to get consistent shooting down. The guard shot 3-for-13 from the field, scoring the majority of his points on free throws tonight.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will return home to the Bryce Jordan Center to take on the Ohio State Buckeyes. The game is set to tip off at 6 p.m. on Saturday, December 10, and can be viewed on the Big Ten Network.