Penn State men’s basketball (7-1) had no trouble handling Buffalo (4-4) in its 87-64 win in the Bryce Jordan Center on Sunday afternoon. The win came after the Nittany Lions suffered their first loss of the season to Clemson on Tuesday.

It was a dunk fest in Happy Valley. Yanic Konan Niederhauser had himself a game as he tied his career-high with 27 points, shot 12-for-16 from the field, grabbed three rebounds, and nailed a three.

How It Happened

The scoring started with a quick alley-oop from Ace Baldwin Jr. to Konan Niederhauser. Two possessions later, the Switzerland native scored again for the early 4-0 lead. Buffalo tied the game with two quick scores, including an emphatic dunk by Anquan Boldin Jr.

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Baldwin scored his first bucket of the contest to regain the lead, but a series of seven misses from both sides slowed the scoring until D’Marco Dunn got a steal and scored off the fast break. The Bulls scored on their next possession then Dunn drained a three from the wing off another fast break to make it 11-6.

Nick Kern Jr. was next to score as he made a spinning layup with the shot clock winding down, then Puff Johnson followed with a score to make it a 7-0 run. The scoring started to pick up after the nine-minute mark of the first half. Buffalo scored consecutive field goals to end Penn State’s run and Johnson made another layup for the 17-10 lead.

Noah Batchelor made both free throws to cut into the lead after being fouled by Jahvin Carter. Zach Hicks made only one free throw attempt and the Bulls made another bucket to shrink the Penn State lead to four.

Freddie Dilione V flushed a three, sunk a step-back jumper, and found Konan Niederhauser on another alley-oop for the 7-0 run as the lead grew to 25-16. Ben Michaels drilled a deep three for the Bulls and Kern made a layup on the other end as Buffalo hit another three and Konan Niederhauser hit a hook shot to make it 29-22.

Kern was fouled and made both foul shots and the Bulls made a layup at the opposite end. Dunn dropped one in off the glass and Baldwin rang in a deep ball for the 36-24 lead. Both teams exchanged scores and Konan Niederhauser slammed one over a Bulls defender but was called for a technical foul after the make. Ryan Sabol made both foul shots to end the first half 38-28 in favor of the Nittany Lions

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The second half started with several misses from Penn State and a Sabol three for the Bulls. After an 0-for-5 start from the field for Penn State, Dilione was the first Nittany Lion to score as he knocked down a three-pointer. On the next possession, Dilione found Konan Niederhauser for a wide-open three.

Sabol hit his third three of the game and Johnson only made one of two free throws to make it 45-34 Penn State. Kern and Hicks combined for five points then Konan Niederhauser tipped in another alley-oop pass from Baldwin. Konan Niederhauser was fouled on the tip and sunk his foul shot but seconds later, Baldwin got a steal and threw it off the glass for yet another Konan Niederhauser slam.

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— Penn State Men’s Basketball (@PennStateMBB) December 1, 2024

From there, it was all Nittany Lions for the remaining 13 minutes. Kern scored twice to reach 14 points on the afternoon and Konan Niederhauser hit a reverse dunk for his 20th point at 61-40. Buffalo went on a 10-3 run to cut Penn State’s lead to 13 but Kachi Nzeh’s dunk stopped the run.

Dilione knocked down a triple as the shot clock expired and Konan Niederhauser threw down the fifth lob pass to him for his 11th bucket of the game. Dilione then hit his fourth three and made a layup to extend the lead to 76-55.

Johnson converted a layup, Hicks made a free throw, Konan Niederhauser with a dunk, and Carter nailed a three to extend the lead to 26. Mike Rhoades subbed in some underclassmen and the Nittany Lions got the 87-64 win.

Takeaways

• It was another explosive game from Penn State’s offense. Konan Niederhauser led the way with 27 points as the Nittany Lions’ fifth-ranked scoring offense shot 56.5% from the field, 42.9% from three, and scored 87 points.
• Dilione had multiple season-highs against the Bulls as he had 16 points, four assists, and shot 4-for-9 from three.
• Penn State has forced 17.57 turnovers a game (12th-most in the nation) coming into the contest. Against Buffalo, the Nittany Lions forced 15 turnovers.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will begin Big Ten play against No. 13 Purdue in the Bryce Jordan Center at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, December 5. The game will air on FS1.