Penn State men’s basketball (12-2, 2-1 Big Ten) escaped Northwestern (10-4, 1-2 Big Ten) 84-80 in its first game of 2025 at the Bryce Jordan Center Thursday night.

In a back-and-forth game, four Nittany Lions scored in double figures as Penn State improved to 9-0 at home this season.

How It Happened

Ace Baldwin Jr., Freddie Dilione V, Zach Hicks, Puff Johnson, and Yanic Konan Niederhauser made up the starting five for Mike Rhoades.

After a Dilione misfire, Johnson pulled down an offensive rebound and hit a fadeaway and-one to give Penn State an early 3-0 lead, which was extended to 6-0 after a Hicks corner three. Dilione got on the board shortly after when he soared in for a tomahawk jam.

Freddie Dilione with the steal and one-hand SLAM @PennStateMBB#B1GMBBall on Peacock pic.twitter.com/5hUTb9gtzR

— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) January 3, 2025

Nick Martinelli, who came into this matchup averaging 20.2 points per game, got Northwestern on the board down low shortly before the game’s first media timeout. Hicks made two free throws while Justin Mullins dropped in a fastbreak layup to make it 10-4 Nittany Lions.

Luke Hunger scored another easy two for the Wildcats before Baldwin and Martinelli traded free throws, and the Nittany Lions took a 12-8 advantage into the under-12 break. After the timeout, Brooks Barnhizer, who also was averaging over 20 points per contest, splashed in a three to bring his team back within one.

Northwestern then took its first lead of the night as Martinelli assisted Matthew Nicholson for an and-one, but Hicks quickly sliced through the lane to tie it back up. The 14-14 score didn’t last long, however, as K.J. Windham hit a triple from the left wing.

The two teams continued to go back and forth, but Penn State brought a scoring drought of over two minutes into the next media timeout with Northwestern ahead 21-16. After three straight Wildcat misses, D’Marco Dunn made a layup through a foul, while Martinelli split a pair of free throws on the other end.

A couple of dribble moves freed up space for Nick Kern Jr. to put in his first basket, and on the ensuing possession, Dilione threw down a fastbreak dunk to force a Northwestern timeout. Dunn then scored two baskets in a row to make it a 9-0 Penn State run and put the Nittany Lions up 28-22.

Using a euro step to get to the paint, Barnhizer scored for Northwestern, and after several minutes of continuous play, the game went to a media timeout with a score of 30-26 in favor of the blue and white. Angelo Ciaravino made a wide-open corner three before Konan Niederhauser got on the board with two free throws.

A Konan Niederhauser block led to a runout and Dilione posterizing jam over Ciaravino for his third dunk of the night. However, Dilione’s celebration prompted a technical foul and two Jalen Leach free throws.

OH MY FREDDIE DILIONE

pic.twitter.com/elu16CyG8x

— Onward State (@OnwardState) January 3, 2025

A Ciaravino three and one Kern foul shot rounded out the tight first half, and the teams headed to the locker rooms with Penn State on top 37-34.

Konan Niederhauser opened the second half by making his first field goal to go along with a foul, but he missed the free throw, and Leach quickly made it a three-point game once more. On the other end, Johnson muscled through contact for yet another Penn State and-one.

The seven-footer Konan Niederhauser then committed a foul on Leach, but took the worst of the contact, as he was forced to go to the locker room after rolling his ankle, and Northwestern went on a quick 4-0 spurt.

After Johnson and Barnhizer traded scores, Mullins used the glass on a reverse layup that he was fouled on, leading to a three-point play to tie the game at 45-45. The Wildcats then took the lead via two Martinelli free throws, which were equalized by Johnson.

The lead swung back to Penn State at 50-49 following Hicks being fouled on a three and making all of his shots at the line, and Baldwin followed those makes with two of his own. However, Windham rattled in a corner three to make it 52-52 with just over 14 minutes left.

The next couple minutes brought about scores from both teams, and the game reached the under-12 media timeout with Northwestern leading 58-57. Each team then scored four points out of the break, as Northwestern relied on its bigs while Dilione scored a turnaround jumper.

A missed Baldwin three was grabbed out of midair by Konan Niederhauser, who stuffed in a putback dunk to make it a one-point Penn State lead. After a Northwestern timeout, Barnhizer and Nicholson connected for an alley-oop slam, but Hicks had the answer from distance.

Barnhizer and Martinelli continued to dominate, but Dilione responded with a close finish to make it 71-71. Martinelli then got to the line, where he went 1-for-2, while Baldwin made two at the other stripe to give Penn State the lead.

With just over five minutes to play, Ty Berry got his first points with an open three and forced Penn State to call a timeout down 75-73. Out of the break, Kern lofted a pass inside that led to a Konan Niederhauser dunk, and the big man swatted a Martinelli floater into the stands. In transition, Baldwin then made his first field goal with a runner.

Following another Martinelli miss, Baldwin assisted Hicks for a left-handed and-one to give the blue and white an 80-75 advantage, which was cut down by one on the ensuing possession by a Nicholson free throw.

Barnhizer and a Baldwin-to-Kern alley-oop had the game going back and forth with under two minutes to go as Penn State led by four. Martinelli made two free throws after being fouled by Kern, and Baldwin missed a three to give Northwestern the ball back with 23 seconds to play as it faced a two-point deficit.

Berry missed a three, but while Leach caught the offensive rebound, his putback attempt was blocked by Dunn. However, the officials went to the replay monitor to check for goaltending, which was not the case, so Northwestern got the ball on the baseline with 6.7 seconds remaining.

Nicholson backed down Konan Niederhauser along the baseline, but Konan Niederhauser forced a turnover, and Baldwin iced the game with two free throws to put Penn State up 84-80, which was the final after a missed three at the buzzer.

Takeaways

• While he was limited, Penn State freshman Miles Goodman saw the first action of his college career today, as a lingering shoulder injury finally healed for the former four-star recruit out of California.
• Penn State’s backcourt defense remained impressive, as Baldwin and Dilione combined for seven steals, but the frontcourt defense allowed 38 combined points from forwards Nick Martinelli and Brooks Barnhizer.
• As it has on multiple occasions this season, free throw shooting favored Penn State in this one, going 36-for-45 at the line compared to Northwestern’s 18-for-21.
• Konan Niederhauser took over on both sides of the ball late in the game, ending the night with nine points, nine rebounds, and three blocks.

What’s Next?

Penn State will head to Philadelphia for a Big Ten matchup with Indiana at noon on Sunday at The Palestra. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.