Penn State Hoops’ Return To Rec Game Spoiled By Ohio State In 83-64 Loss
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Penn State men’s basketball (13-9, 3-8 Big Ten) was defeated by Ohio State (13-8, 5-5 Big Ten) 83-64 in its annual Return to Rec game Thursday night in front of a White Out crowd at Rec Hall.
Getting outrebounded by the Buckeyes 41-23, the Nittany Lions were outpaced from start to finish in their seventh loss in the last eight games.
How It Happened
With Puff Johnson still out due to injury, Mike Rhoades’ starting five was made up of Ace Baldwin Jr., Freddie Dilione V, Nick Kern Jr., Zach Hicks, and Yanic Konan Niederhauser.
After winning the opening tipoff, Konan Niederhauser got Penn State on the board first with a second-chance left-handed layup, which was answered by Devin Royal to even the score at 2-2. The Nittany Lions quickly retook the lead after Kern used a crossover to get to the rim and finish.
John Mobley Jr. scooped in his first bucket and followed it with a deep left-wing triple to give the Buckeyes a 7-4 lead heading into the game’s first media timeout with 15:26 remaining in the first half. Out of the break, Niederhauser ended a three-minute scoring drought with a post hook over Aaron Bradshaw.
On the other end, Royal spun into the paint and drained a mid-range jumper before Bradshaw rejected D’Marco Dunn and slammed it in on the Ohio State fastbreak. Niederhauser responded with a layup off an entry pass from Baldwin moments later.
A Sean Stewart score extended the Buckeye lead to five before Dunn hit a three, which Bruce Thornton equalized 14 seconds later, and Ohio State led 16-11 when the game reached its second media timeout. Stewart dropped in another layup to get play back underway.
Baldwin hitting a three and Niederhauser swatting a Royal layup energized the Rec Hall crowd once more, but Micah Parrish silenced the fans with a baseline jumper on the ensuing Ohio State possession. Mobley then knocked down a straightaway three to put Ohio State up 23-14.
Dunn backed his way into the post before dumping off a pass for Niederhauser, who threw down a two-handed dunk over Ivan Njegovan, and Hicks splashed in a three on the next offensive trip to force an Ohio State timeout.
Parrish and Hicks traded buckets, and after a technical foul was called on Hicks, Parrish made two free throws. Royal then hit two free throws of his own, extending the scarlet and gray lead back to eight. A pair of Hicks free throws off a Royal foul then cut into that.
Thornton knocked down his second three of the night, but Nzeh had the opportunity to equalize that shot with an and-one. However, he missed the free throw, and Parrish put in a layup to make it 34-25 in favor of Ohio State.
Racing down the floor, Baldwin used a euro step to get to the basket before getting denied by Parrish, and the Buckeyes took a nine-point advantage into the first half’s final media timeout.
Dunn went 1-for-2 at the charity stripe out of the break, while Mobley went the other way and swished a three. Then, Kern was whistled for a technical foul and Mobley made both foul shots. Two Dunn free throws cut Penn State’s deficit to 11 on the other side.
Consecutive baskets by Royal put the Buckeyes on top 43-28 and forced Rhoades to call a timeout with just over a minute remaining in the half. The crowd was electrified out of the break, as Ace Baldwin used a stepback to put his defender on skates and knock down a three.
A dribble drive gave Niederhauser momentum to the basket, and he threw down a one-handed posterizing jam on top of Njegovan, trimming the Ohio State lead to 43-33 heading into the halftime break.
At halftime, the national championship-winning Penn State women’s volleyball team returned to Rec Hall and made its way to midcourt to a standing ovation.
Parrish committed an offensive foul to start the second half, and Penn State capitalized as Hicks hit a three from the right wing, but Mobley then got to the tin and rattled in a layup to end an 8-0 Nittany Lion run.
After pump faking once, Hicks canned his third three of the night and made the Penn State deficit just six. However, a Stewart foul shot and block set up Royal for a stuff before Glover made a mid-range shot to make it a 5-0 Ohio State run.
Royal committed his third personal foul, which Konan Niederhauser fought through to convert on a three-point play. A miss off the rim by former Penn State player Evan Mahaffey was grabbed by Stewart for a putback, and the Buckeyes led by 10 at the first media timeout of the second half.
Thornton pumped once and dropped in a floater from inside the paint and Kern sunk one free throw and layup to make the score 54-45 in favor of Ohio State. Mobley then got fouled by Kern on a three-pointer and went 2-for-3 at the line.
An extra pass from Hicks to Kern for a reverse layup brought the deficit back within single digits, but only for a moment, as Njegovan hammered home a putback dunk before the under-12 media timeout. After the break, Kern went 1-for-2 on free throws.
Quick ball movement around the horn set up Thornton for a top-of-the-key three, and after two Baldwin free throws, Thornton made another from the corner on the next possession to put Ohio State up by 15. Njegovan then made a pair of foul shots to make it 17.
Konan Niederhauser dropped in a much-needed bucket for Penn State with a hook shot, which was followed by a number of free throws by each team, bringing the score to 71-56 Ohio State. Then, Ohio State took its largest lead behind another Thornton three.
Ohio State added two more second-chance points with an offensive rebound and floater from Mobley before Dunn and Bradshaw exchanged buckets down low. Ace Baldwin entered double figures with a couple of free throws after the game’s final media timeout.
The two teams continued taking trips to the foul line, and Ohio State eventually dribbled out the final seconds and took down Penn State 83-64.
Takeaways
- A column that Penn State typically controls, the Nittany Lions only took away one steal on the night, while Ohio State had six.
- Free throw shooting was a struggle for the Nittany Lions throughout the contest, going 16-for-29 from the line while Ohio State shot above 70%.
- Twenty-eight combined second-half fouls made for a long game, and fans began pouring out of Rec Hall with over six minutes remaining.
What’s Next?
The Nittany Lions will return to their usual home of the Bryce Jordan Center against Minnesota at 7 p.m. on Thursday, February 4.
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