Penn State men’s basketball (13-14, 7-9 Big Ten) defeated No. 12 Illinois (19-7, 10-5 Big Ten) 90-89 behind a rocking crowd at Rec Hall for the “Return To Rec” game. In the first game since coach Rhoades dismissed the team’s leading scorer, Kanye Clary, the Nittany Lions came from behind to pull off a huge upset over one of the nation’s best teams.

After the win, Penn State fans, dressed in white, stormed the court for the second time this season. The Nittany Lions had previously defeated then-No. 11 Wisconsin.

Nick Kern Jr. finished with 22 points, a career-high, and Ace Baldwin Jr. added 10 points and 12 assists. Zach Hicks also finished with 13 points and eight rebounds as well as hitting the final three free throws to win the game.

How It Happened

Qudus Wahab won the opening tip for Penn State but was unable to score on its first possession. It didn’t take long for Illinois to score as Marcus Domask got a layup to drop for the first basket of the game.

However, the Nittany Lions shook the first possession off and proceeded to hit four shots in a row. It started with a Wahab layup after a fantastic pass from Baldwin and was followed up with a corner three by D’Marco Dunn.

A Terrance Shannon Jr. turnover gave the Nittany Lion the ball right back and once again Wahab knocked down a shot this time on a pull-up jumper. He then scored a hook shot for his sixth point of the night just three minutes into action.

Quincy Guerrier finally ended the right with a deep three-pointer, but Baldwin answered his call with a triple of his own. Penn State forced another stop and during an inbound pass underneath the rim, Kern slammed a dunk to go up nine points.

Dain Dainja hit a pair of free throws, but Wahab remained a factor on the offensive end, hitting another shot in the paint to make it 16-7, Penn State.

The Fighting Illini then got a run of their own going. Coleman Hawkins started it with a three-pointer and Ty Rodgers and Shannon both got layups to drop to make it a one-possession game.

Dunn ended the 7-0 Illinois run with a driving layup and after a steal from Zach Hicks, the forward found an open shot on the other end and make it a six-point lead. The lead grew after Leo O’Boyle drilled a three-pointer for his first field goal since the Wisconsin game.

Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn and Baldwin traded shots, but after the Illini went on another run to get them back in the game. Domask, Shannon, and Rodgers all scored layups to get it back to a three-point game. Wahab and Rodgers traded layups to keep it a one-possession game before Puff Johnson drove through the lane, got the foul call and layup to drop, and finished the three-point play with the free throw.

With under eight to play in the first half, Justin Harmon hit a layup and Baldwin responded with a pair of free throws to keep the lead at six. Shannon knocked down two free throws of his own, but Baldwin found Rayquawndis Mitchell open for a layup.

However, the Illini then went on another big run to take the lead. Luke Goode drilled a three to kick things off and Amani Hansberry and Shannon hit back-to-back layups to make it 35-34 in favor of Illinois, forcing Rhoades to call a timeout.

Out of the timeout, Kern slammed another dunk that retook the lead, but on the other end, Shannon drilled a three to go up two. Baldwin found Mitchell open underneath the rim for a layup to tie the game at 38, but Domask answered with a layup of his own to make it 40-38.

Illinois kept its foot on the gas for the remaining three minutes of the half, with Shannon scoring a driving layup to increase the lead to three. After a foul, Baldwin hit 1-of-2 free throws, but Shannon continued to score driving through the lane for another layup.

With a minute and a half left in the half, Shannon hit 1-of-2 free throws to extend the lead to six and Baldwin followed that up with a midrange jumper. As the final seconds of the half were ticking down, Goode drilled a long three. Penn State was unable to score on its final possession of the half and went into the half down 48-41.

At the start of the second half, the Illini picked up right where they left off with Hawkins drilling a three. Wahab picked up a foul call and hit 1-of-2 free throws for the first points of the half for Penn State, and after a stop on defense, Baldwin found Kern for a nice layup for the first field goal of the half.

Shannon continued to dominate on offense drilling a three for his first bucket of the half. After a miss by Wahab, Shannon drew a foul and hit 1-of-2 free throws to make it 55-44 Illinois.

Kern was fouled and hit 1-of-2 free throws and Guerrier answered back with a slam dunk. Wahab finally scored a field goal for Penn State with a layup in the paint, but Illinois responded with a layup of his own.

After a bad pass from Baldwin, Shannon grabbed a steal and took it to the other end for a monster slam dunk. On the other end, Kern got a tough layup to drop, got the and-one call, and hit the free throw to finish the three-point play.

Shannon drew another foul and hit both free throws and Kern and Domask traded layups. Kern kept his foot on the gas with another layup, however, Domask one-upped him getting a layup to drop and getting the and-one call and free throw.

Down 14, Penn State needed to go on a run to get back in the game. They got one started with Kern hitting back-to-back layups to make it a 10-point game once again. After a layup by Hansberry, Kern drilled another layup on the other end. Penn State got a huge stop and Jameel Brown drilled a deep three to cut the deficit to seven, putting everyone in Rec Hall on their feet.

REC HALL, GET LOUD pic.twitter.com/YjRKxTz6dw

— Onward State (@OnwardState) February 22, 2024

After a media break, Shannon was fouled but missed both free throws. After misses and turnovers by both teams, Shannon was fouled again but made both free throws this time around. Kern continued his hot night by scoring another layup, but after a steal by Rodgers, Goode drilled another three to go back up 10.

With under nine left in the game, Kern found a way to the rim and put up a shot that was blocked but it was called goaltending. Kern then picked up a huge steal and found Brown who drilled a contested three to make it 75-70. Shannon drove to the lane and had his shot blocked but that was called for goaltending as well. After a media break, the official overturned both goaltending calls to put the score back to 75-68 Illinois.

Out of the timeout, Johnson was fouled and hit both free throws to once again make it a five-point game. However, Hawkins drilled a long three to get the lead back to eight. Shannon continued to add to that lead with a pair of free throws and a driving layup to make it 82-70 with just over five minutes to play.

Needing a run, Hicks drilled a three to get the game back to single digits. Shannon was fouled and he hit both free throws, but on the other end, Brown scored a layup. Shannon was fouled again but missed the first shot of the one-and-one, and Baldwin found Dunn wide open for a layup.

Down seven, Penn State needed a stop, however, they got the opposite as O’Boyle fouled Shannon, he hit the layup and the free throw to finish the three-point play. On the other end, Hicks drilled a jumper and after a miss by Illinois Hicks drilled a three to make it 87-82.

With under two minutes to play, Penn State got Goode to miss a layup, but Johnson was called for the foul. Goode drilled both free throws to extend the lead back to seven. Needing points fast, Brown picked a huge steal and pulled up for a big three to cut the deficit to four with 35.2 left to play.

On the inbound, Brown grabbed another huge steal and found Johnson who got a layup to drop to make it 89-87. Down two with 27 seconds left to play, Illinois got the inbound in and after Hawkins nearly traveled, was fouled. He missed both free throws and down two Penn State had a chance to tie or go ahead on a three.

As the final seconds ticked down Hicks threw up a long three and missed but a foul was called putting him at the line. Hicks drilled all three free throws giving the Nittany Lions the lead. With four seconds left, Illinois went down the floor but missed the shot, allowing Penn State to complete the comeback and win 90-89

Takeaways

• What a game! Behind a fired-up Rec Hall, Penn State completed a huge comeback win over one of the nation’s best teams for its second-ranked win on the season. The Nittany Lions were down 12 points with just over five minutes remaining and were able to win their biggest game of the season.
• Kern had a night. The junior dropped a career-high 22 points in the loss, marking the first time the guard has scored 20 in a game. Throughout the night he was consistently the best scorer for Penn State as he was the guy that they constantly went to for points.
• With only seconds remaining, Zach Hicks was able to complete the comeback. Hicks was fouled on a three and drilled all three free throws for the win. The forward finished with 13 and eight rebounds and finished with double-digit points for the sixth straight game.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will return to the Bryce Jordan Center for their second matchup of the season versus the Indiana Hoosiers. The game is set to tip off at noon on Saturday, February 24, and can be seen on the Big Ten Network.