Penn State men’s basketball (6-0) took care of business against Fordham (3-4) in the first game of the beach bracket’s Sunshine Slam in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Five Nittany Lions reached double figures with Nick Kern Jr. leading the way with 20 points and 13 rebounds. The win marked the first time Penn State started a season 6-0 since the 1999-2000 season.

How It Happened

Mike Rhoades rolled out his usual starting five to tip off the championship round of the Sunshine Slam against Fordham. Zach Hicks got things going for the Nittany Lions on the first possession of the game with a mid-range jumper. Yanic Konan Niederhauser picked up an early foul on the defensive end a few possessions later.

Hicks threw up a three at the end of the shot clock that he was able to bank in for a quick 5-0 lead for the blue and white. Japhet Medor hit the first field goal of the afternoon for the Rams on their next trip up the court. Ace Baldwin Jr. turned the ball over at halfcourt before hicks fouled Jackie Johnson III in transition to send the game to its first media timeout.

Konan Niederhauser dropped in his first two points of the game but shortly after he picked up his second foul and headed to the bench with over 15 minutes to play in the first half. Freddie Dilione V drove to the basket and used the glass for his first bucket of the game to make it an 11-4 Penn State advantage. Kern got into the scoring mix a few possessions later as the pace of play began to pick up.

After the second review of the first half, Puff Johnson nailed two shots at the free-throw line for a flagrant foul called against the Rams. The pace of the game slowed down again as both teams found themselves in foul trouble with over half of the first frame still to play. Hicks got back into the action a few plays later with an and-one layup as the Nittany Lions lead 21-8.

Baldwin found Kern on the end of a beautiful bounce pass, and his former VCU teammate capitalized at the rim for a tough layup. Notre Dame transfer Matt Zona answered for Fordham with a tough bucket inside the paint. Penn State took a 25-16 lead into the under-eight media timeout.

Medor drilled a corner three out of the break as the Rams started to find their stroke offensively. Puff Johnson answered with a tear-drop floater, but a Romad Dean triple cut the Nittany Lions’ lead to just four points. Puff Johnson went back to his signature floater to stop the Fordham momentum and get Penn State to 30 points.

Dilione and Jackie Johnson traded two-pointers as the game remained close with the first half winding down. With under three minutes to play, Baldwin knocked down two shots after being fouled driving to the basket. Kachi Nzeh saw extended minutes due to Konan Niederhauser’s foul trouble and his play was rewarded with an and-one off an offensive rebound. Hicks went back to work for Penn State and dropped another jumper and the Nittany Lions led by double digits again.

Fordham answered back with a full-court press to force a few turnovers. After a called timeout by the Rams, Joshua Rivera tipped in an offensive rebound to cut into the deficit. Penn State headed to the locker room with a 42-34 lead.

Baldwin and Jackie Johnson traded buckets to open up the second half. Baldwin brought the defense again and went coast to coast before being fouled while attempting a layup in transition. Rhoades’ No. 1 guy knocked down both attempts at the foul line. Konan Niederhauser cleaned up the boards off a missed Hicks layup and was fouled before hitting one of two at the line.

Konan Niederhauser made his first dunk of the game on the next possession, but the Rams kept it close as both teams traded buckets in the early going of the second half. D’Marco Dunn committed a turnover and foul in transition that sent the game to the under-16 media timeout with Penn State leading 54-43.

Hicks buried a three-pointer from the left wing out of the break as he continued to shoot the ball well. Konan Niederhauser stretched the Penn State lead with a baseline reverse layup and Keith Urgo was forced to call a timeout for the Rams. Fordham was called for an offensive foul out of the timeout.

Baldwin and Dunn missed layups on back-to-back possessions but the Rams couldn’t take advantage before the under-12 timeout. Rivera fouled Baldwin out of the break who made both shots at the charity stripe. Kern tipped in another two-pointer off a Baldwin missed shot to continue his impressive day on the court.

Johnson drilled a corner three-pointer from an assist by Kern and the Nittany Lions extended their lead to 20 points with under 10 minutes to play in the game. Rivera slammed in a dunk off a baseline drive to keep the Fordham bench awake. Jackie Johnson missed a deep three-pointer after the timeout but Kern answered in transition with another layup.

Konan Niederhauser finished another reverse layup on his first trip up the floor after checking in and Penn State held a 76-57 advantage. Hicks swished his third triple of the game from the left wing to reach the 80-point mark for the blue and white. Rivera knocked down a three-pointer from the top of the arc to cut the deficit to below 20 points.

Jahvin Carter missed a layup despite an impressive move to the basket with a minute left in the game. Dominick Stewart hit one of two shots at the free-throw line for his first point of the game and that wrapped up the 85-66 win.

Takeaways:

• Kern played his best game of the season off the bench for Rhoades and the blue and white. Kern had an impressive 20 points to go along with 13 rebounds off the bench.
• First-half turnovers limited the efficiency with the Nittany Lions were able to play with against the Rams. Penn State coughed it up seven times and was a major reason why Fordham was able to keep it close.
• Hicks and Puff Johnson had the only made three-pointers for Penn State with a combined five.

What’s Next?

Penn State will face the winner of Clemson and San Francisco in the championship game of the Sunshine Slam’s beach bracket at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, November 25. The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.