Penn State men’s basketball (8-2, 1-1 Big Ten) lost to Rutgers (6-4, 1-1 Big Ten) 80-76 in Piscataway, New Jersey, Tuesday night. The loss comes a game after taking down No. 8 Purdue 81-70 at home on Thursday

The Nittany Lions were down 48-33 at halftime and outscored the Scarlet Knights 43-32 in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to complete the comeback.

The Scarlet Knights’ true freshmen stole the show. Dylan Harper scored 24 points and shot 8-for-14 from the field and 3-for-6 from three and Ace Bailey scored 15 points with 15 rebounds.

Zach Hicks led the Nittany Lions in scoring with 20 points while shooting 6-for-12 from the field and 6-for-10 from three. He also had six rebounds and two steals.

How It Happened

Puff Johnson started the scoring with a quick hook shot in the paint. Rutgers’s Bailey made a layup in response. It was then Ace Baldwin Jr. with a corner three for the Penn State 5-2 lead.

A few Scarlet Knight errors led to a Zach Hicks contested layup but Rutgers cleaned up the sloppy play and scored five straight with the help of a long three from its talented freshman guard Harper. Both teams suffered a series of missed shots until Harper drained back-to-back threes for the 13-7 lead.

Nick Kern Jr. killed the momentum with a baseline reverse layup and second layup cutting through the middle of the paint. The Nittany Lions and the Scarlet Knights shared the next eight points with successful put-backs from each team.

P.J. Hayes drilled a three at the shot clock buzzer and Lathan Sommerville made a layup for the 22-15 lead. After two successful foul shots by Bailey, Freddie Dilione V found Kachi Nzeh cutting through the paint for the easy layup, but Hayes drilled another three at the other end for the 10-point lead.

Sommerville euro-stepped his way to an easy layup and Penn State, again, had a series of missed shots until Baldwin found his first bucket on a converted and-one opportunity. Rutgers scored two more from free throws and Hicks followed with the Nittany Lions’ first three-pointer of the game.

Jordan Derkack made two more foul shots and like Hicks, Baldwin followed with another three to make it 33-26. But Tyson Acuff also made a three for the Scarlet Knights and Nzeh made another layup for the Nittany Lions.

Bailey and D’Marco Dunn exchanged scores but Acuff’s three and Harper’s converted and-one made it 45-30 Rutgers. Hicks cut the lead to 12 with a three but Jeremiah Williams nailed a buzzer-beater three from the wing to end the half 48-33.

The Scarlet Knights started where they left off and scored off a fast dunk to open the second half. Dilione was a spark for the Nittany Lions with seven straight points after he made a layup, a jumper, and a three on Penn State’s first three possessions. Rutgers scored three points and Dilione made another jumper to make it 53-42.

Jamichael Davis made a tough layup and Derkack converted an and-one dunk to extend the lead to 15 points. Hicks made another three to keep the Nittany Lions in the game and was fouled on the next possession and made both foul shots.

On the next possession, good ball movement drew Dunn open for a three to make it an 8-0 run for Penn State. Sommerville ended the run with a layup under the basket and Harper drew another foul but made one foul shot.

Kern and Harper traded layups then Kern and Williams traded layups moments later to keep the Scarlet Knights’ lead locked at 10. Dilione made a short fading jumper, Bailey matched, Dilione made a free throw, and Harped dunked one to make it 70-61 Scarlet Knights.

Bailey scored his 10th point and Johnson slammed a dunk, but Bailey did the same on the next possession. Hicks made his fifth three-pointer of the night to cut the lead to eight. Johnson scored off a layup and Harper followed at 76-68.

Johnson’s two free throws and Hicks’s three cut the Rutgers lead to just three points as the Scarlet Knights called a timeout. Williams went 1-for-2 on free throws as Baldwin made a fading jumper. Bailey scored on a put-back and Penn State called a timeout with 10 seconds left in the game.

Baldwin missed a three and the Nittany Lions fouled Bailey getting the rebound. He went 1-for-2 from the line to end the game 80-76 in favor of Rutgers.

Takeaways

• It was a rough night for Baldwin offensively. He scored just eight points and shot 3-for-14 from the field with seven assists and four steals.
• Like Baldwin, Yanic Konan Niederhauser was a non-factor in this game. He was held to four points and five rebounds.
• Harper and Bailey combined for 39 points and the rest of the Scarlet Knights combined for 41 points.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions return to the Bryce Jordan Center to face Coppin State at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 14. The game will air on the Big Ten Network.