Penn State Hoops Suffers First Loss Of Season To Clemson 75-67 In Sunshine Slam Championship
Penn State men’s basketball (6-1) fell to Clemson (6-1) 75-67 in the championship of the Sunshine Slam’s beach division Tuesday evening.
Despite 20 points and 11 assists from Ace Baldwin Jr., the Nittany Lions struggled to score late in the game, leading to their first loss of the year.
How It Happened
It was the usual starting five for Mike Rhoades, as he rolled out Ace Baldwin Jr., Freddie Dilione V, Puff Johnson, Zach Hicks, and Yanic Konan Niederhauser.
After winning the opening tipoff, the Nittany Lions got on the board quickly, as Baldwin fed Konan Niederhauser for an alley-oop. Chauncey Wiggins answered to open the scoring for the Tigers.
Pick and roll perfection
— Penn State Men’s Basketball (@PennStateMBB) November 26, 2024@YanicKonan #WeAre |
: CBS Sports Network pic.twitter.com/B3yGeQvR1u
Hicks and Ian Schieffelin traded buckets before Schieffelin assisted Wiggins for a corner three to give Clemson its first lead of the day at 7-4.
D’Marco Dunn and Kachi Nzeh quickly made an impact off the bench, as a steal by Dunn led to a Nzeh layup off a wraparound bounce pass from Baldwin to make it a one-point game heading into the first media timeout.
Wiggins dropped in his third field goal out of the break after spinning by Nick Kern Jr. in the paint, but Baldwin fed Kern for a finger roll in transition, making it 9-8 Tigers. They quickly extended the lead back to three via a Schieffelin power dribble and layup, which they took into the under-12 timeout.
Despite Johnson muscling his way for a left-handed floater off the glass after the timeout, Clemson went on a quick 6-0 spurt to make it 17-10 midway through the first half, which was ended by Konan Niederhauser going 1-for-2 at the foul line.
The Penn State big man made his presence felt on defense moments later, sending a Jaeden Zackery shot out of bounds just before another media timeout. Then, after the break, he threw down another emphatic slam.
After a Dilione three and Kern layup off a lob from Baldwin, the Tigers called a timeout with Penn State on an 8-0 run and back on top 18-17.
FR3DDIE
— Penn State Men’s Basketball (@PennStateMBB) November 26, 2024@Freddiedilione5 #WeAre |
Wiggins, a freshman, ended the Clemson scoring drought that lasted more than four minutes, but Dilione looped through the paint and scored from the elbow to respond. A Tiger then tipped in a bucket for Penn State, putting the blue and white up 22-19.
The Baldwin-to-Konan Niederhauser connection continued for the center’s third dunk of the first half, which came from a Baldwin lob.
Kern put the Nittany Lions up by seven, their largest of the game, but Clemson then went on a 9-0 run from consecutive threes by Zackery, Del Jones, and Chase Hunter to retake a two-point lead and force a Penn State timeout with 2:48 to play in the opening half.
Baldwin scored his first points of the game at the charity stripe to tie it at 30-30, but Jones scored again to give Clemson the lead back. Baldwin then made two more free throws, and the game was tied once again.
The late stages of the half continued to go back and forth, with the two teams trading buckets before Schieffelin scored four straight points to put Clemson up four.
With 27 seconds to go, Baldwin drove to the rim and laid it in for his first field goal make, and Wiggins missed a three with the clock winding down, ending the first half with Clemson holding a 38-36 lead.
After a short delay due to the shot clock operator not being at the scorer’s table, Konan Niederhauser dunked it home again to begin the second half.
.@yeah_ace3
— Penn State Men’s Basketball (@PennStateMBB) November 26, 2024@YanicKonan to start the second half#WeAre |
Hunter drilled a right-wing triple on the fastbreak to give Clemson the lead back and the Tiger bench was fired up after Viktor Lakhin rejected a Kern dunk attempt.
Baldwin threw away two straight turnovers, the second of which led to a Wiggins runout and finish through a foul, and Clemson went on top 44-40 prior to the second half’s first media timeout. Wiggins then started to play back up with a long-range three to make the advantage seven.
Off of a baseline inbound, Baldwin took a stepback three and hit it and later hit a cutting Hicks with a bounce pass for two, but Lakhin and Schieffelin had answers to keep a six-point lead. However, Kern took it upon himself with an and-one while fading away to trim the deficit to 51-48.
Jones hit a three, while Baldwin and Dilione each made a layup through contact, making it 54-52 in favor of Clemson with 11:47 to go. Immediately after the timeout, Baldwin put the Nittany Lions back on top with a left-wing three.
Takeover time
— Penn State Men’s Basketball (@PennStateMBB) November 26, 2024
Kern then zipped it inside to Baldwin for two more and after a lengthy review, Hunter hit a pair of free throws but airballed a three on the next possession.
After Dilione hit a long corner two, Clemson took the lead back at 61-59 with Lakhin free throws and a Hunter three with just under eight minutes remaining. After the media timeout, Kern tied it up for the seventh time in the game at the free-throw line.
Clemson took an 11-3 run into the final media timeout, having a 67-61 lead with 3:58 left in the game, but Hicks trimmed that lead in half with a triple after the break. Rhoades was forced to call a timeout after Lakhin threw down a dunk to make it 69-64 with under two minutes.
After talking things over, Baldwin freed himself up with a backdoor cut and after receiving a pass from Hicks, he dropped it in. Schieffelin’s turnaround hook shot made it a five-point game again before Konan Niederhauser split a pair of free throws after being fouled.
Zackery hit two free throws with 17 seconds to play, and with time winding down, Kern committed a hard foul on Hunter, who made two free throws with zeros on the clock, making it 75-67.
Takeaways
- As Penn State’s star point guard, Baldwin showed off his shotmaking abilities for himself and his teammates, going for 20 points and 11 assists.
- Konan Niederhauser exploded in the first half before a quiet second frame, scoring 11 points on 5-for-5 shooting in the first.
- While Clemson’s defense was solid, many of the Nittany Lions’ 17 total turnovers were unforced.
What’s Next?
The Nittany Lions will return home to take on Buffalo at 2 p.m. on Sunday, December 1, at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Your ad blocker is on.
Please choose an option below.
Purchase a Subscription!
About the Author
Penn State Food We Wish We Had At Thanksgiving
Who wouldn’t want a scoop of Berkey Creamery Pumpkin Pie ice cream with dessert?
Analyzing Post-Minnesota Reactions For Penn State Football
The nail-biter win reignited concerns about Penn State’s ability to make a deep College Football Playoff run.
Your Guide To Thanksgiving Meals & Offers In State College
From The Corner Room to the Nittany Lion Inn, we compiled this year’s Thanksgiving meal options around town.
