Penn State Hoops Ends Losing Streak In 80-72 Win Over Rutgers

Penn State hoops (13-6, 3-5 Big Ten) defeated Rutgers (10-9, 3-5 Big Ten) 80-72 in the Bryce Jordan Center on Monday night. It was the Nittany Lions’ first win since beating Northwestern 84-80 on January 2.
It was a big night for Penn State offensively. Ace Baldwin Jr. led the way with 22 points, followed by Yanic Konan Niederhauser with 18, Nick Kern Jr. with 16, and Freddie Dilione V with 12.
How It Happened
On the game’s first possession, Kern fouled Lathan Sommerville and started the scoring with two made free throws. Dylan Harper followed with a steal off Konan Niederhauser and dunked it at the other end.
Penn State turned it over again and Sommerville scored again with a layup off the glass for the 6-0 lead. Konan Niederhauser started the scoring for the Nittany Lions on their next possession with a layup inside but Harper hit a three from the wing.
Dilione hit his first three of the night from the corner to make it 9-5 Rutgers. Kern turned it over and Jeremiah Williams turned the mistake into a bucket, an alley-oop opportunity to Konan Niderhauser failed, and Sommerville turned it over right before the first media timeout.
Zach Hicks hit a three out of the break and Baldwin got a steal but it resulted in no points. Williams made a contested layup and Dilione swished in his second three moments later to cut the Scarlet Knights’ lead down to 13-11.
Zach Martini hit a three from the corner and Konan Niederhauser scored inside to extend the lead to three until Dilione drained another 3-pointer to tie the game at 16-16 as Rutgers used a timeout. Sommerville made a bucket out of the break and Jordon Derkack followed to extend the lead to four.
D’Marco Dunn made a layup, Baldwin got a steal off the inbound, was fouled while making a reverse layup, and made the three throw for Penn State’s first lead of the contest at 21-20. It didn’t last long though as Ace Bailey made a layup for Rutgers.
The offenses started to break loose as Baldwin sunk a three, Bailey made another layup, Dylan Grant made a corner three, and Kern made a layup and a three-pointer. The game then hit a bit of a snag as both teams suffered from missed shots and turnovers.
Kern fouled Harper and the 7’0″, 250-pound Konan Niederhauser fell on his legs, resulting in Harper getting up with a noticeable limp. Harper then missed both foul shots and fouled Konan Niderhauser on Penn State’s next possession where he was subbed out during the media timeout.
Konan Niedrhauser made both free throws but Bailey made a three to make it 31-30 Penn State. Konan Niderhauser was fouled again but only made one free throw this time. Rutgers then regained the lead off another three from Bailey.
Baldwin recaptured the lead with a steal that turned into an easy layup but Emmanuel Ogbole did the same except his layup was blocked by Konan Niederhauser and Derkack got the easy rebound and bucket. Dilione got a steal then turned it into three points with a three from Baldwin.
Ogbole was charged with a turnover and it nearly turned into three more points at the end of the half but Hicks was called for a travel on his made three as the half ended 37-35 in favor of Penn State.
Konan Niderhauser started the second half with a dunk and Bailey hit his third three to start the scoring for Rutgers. Kern drew a shooting foul and went 1-for-2 from the line and Sommerville did the same but made both attempts to tie the game at 40-40.
Hicks drilled another three but Grant dropped in a layup, and so did Bailey to claim a one-point lead. After many missed shots from inside, Ogbole was fouled and made just one free throw. Willams was the next to score as he floated one inside the paint and extended his team’s lead to 47-43.
Dilione scored his 12th point of the game, all coming from 3-pointers, and Baldwin scored on a fast break layup to give the Nittany Lions a one-point lead. Harper ended Penn State’s momentum with a three from the wing and Bailey followed with a layup.
Konan Niederhuaser made another layup from under the basket to shorten the lead but Bailey hit a mid-range jumper at the other end. Kern drew a shooting foul, made both free throws this time and scored off a layup to regain the lead at 54-53.
Baldwin made it a 7-0 run with a three and Konan Niederhauser scored off a missed three as Rutgers used a timeout at 59-53. The run continued with another Konan Niederhauser layup but a dunk by Grant ended the run temporarily. Hicks was fouled and made both foul shots to make it a 13-2 run.
Bailey made a dunk but was called for a technical foul after the play. Baldwin made both free throws for the 65-57 lead. Baldwin and Konan Niederhauser then connected on an alley-oop to extend the lead to 10 until Derkack was fouled and made both free throws.
Mike Rhoades used his second timeout with 3:33 remaining but Dunn’s shot didn’t fall and Bailey scored for the Scarlet Knights on a fast break layup to make it 67-61. Sommerville was fouled by Dunn and he made both free throws to shrink the lead to four.
Kern drew the foul this time and with both teams in the bonus, he went to the line and made both shots. Bailey made a layup and Rutgers used its final timeout with 2:27 remaining. Sommerville drew another foul and made both shots to shrink Penn State’s lead to 69-67.
Konan Niederhauser put the Nittany Lions up by three after drawing a foul inside and Kern followed with a fast break layup to make it 72-67. Baldwin was fouled and made two more free throws but Bailey drilled a long three to make it a four-point game.
Baldwin was fouled and made just one free throw and Bailey slammed in another dunk but was called for another technical foul after the play. Baldwin went 1-for-2 from the line to make it 76-72. Dunn and Baldwin were fouled and they each made their free throws to end the game 80-72 for Penn State.
Takeaways
- This was a big momentum win for the Nittany Lions. They suffered four straight Big Ten losses and were just 1-4 since the New Year. Plus, they got some payback at losing to Rutgers 80-76 at the beginning of December
- Baldwin was tenacious on defense against the Scarlet Knights. He tied his season high in steals with five as the team had nine total steals and Rutgers suffered 17 turnovers.
- A big part of the win was Penn State’s more efficient shooting from the arc. The Nittany Lions hit 47.6% of their threes and Dilione led the way, shooting 4-for-4.
What’s Next
The Nittany Lions will continue Big Ten play and head to Iowa to face the Hawkeyes at 9 p.m. on Friday, January 24. The game will air on FS1.
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