Penn State men’s basketball (13-13, 3-12 Big Ten) fell to Washington (13-12, 4-10 Big Ten) 75-73 on Saturday afternoon at the Bryce Jordan Center.

A 13-point Penn State lead in the first half quickly evolved into a back-and-forth affair in the first-ever men’s basketball meeting between the Huskies and Nittany Lions. Washington kept the Nittany Lions at bay in the dying seconds as the Nittany Lions’ losing streak was extended to seven.

How It Happened

Ace Baldwin Jr., D’Marco Dunn, Nick Kern Jr., Yanic Konan Niederhauser, and Zach Hicks rounded out the starting five as Konan Niederhauser pushed the opening tip to Baldwin. Baldwin drew a foul on the opening possession, but Hicks’ miss forced the Nittany Lions to come up empty.

Penn State forced a Washington miss from beyond the arc, and Dunn found Konan Niederhauser in the paint for the opening points. Another forced stop segued into a Kern reverse layup before Washington notched its first bucket.

Can't jump against @TheBigTickettt

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— Penn State Men’s Basketball (@PennStateMBB) February 15, 2025

Washington’s Mekhi Mason scored the first triple of the night to hand the Huskies its first lead of the game as Freddie Dilione and Kachi Nzeh entered the game for Penn State. Baldwin scored a layup and Hicks scored from downtown before Nzeh was denied on a dunk attempt.

Washington scored two coming out of the media timeout before Baldwin responded with his first triple of the day. Kern moved in from the corner once more to score an acrobatic layup and hand Penn State a five-point advantage with just over 13 minutes left in the first frame.

Mason added three to Washington’s tally with a deep corner three. Dunn responded with a three of his own to go up six.

Mason made another from beyond the arc, but Dilione cashed in from deep as well to restore the six-point advantage. Baldwin drew a foul on the next possession and sunk both shots from the charity stripe.

The Bryce Jordan Center crowd erupted as Konan Niederhauser denied a Husky at the rim.

YANIC

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— Penn State Men’s Basketball (@PennStateMBB) February 15, 2025

Dunn then powered his way through for a layup as the Nittany Lions snatched a 10-point lead, forcing Washington to call a timeout with 8:53 left in the opening half.

Baldwin then joined the block party, but a foul by Dominick Stewart negated the play. Washington’s Great Osobor only scored one of his foul shots.

Hicks hit an off-balance corner three and drew the foul for the four-point play opportunity. He sunk his foul shot as Penn State’s lead ballooned to 13.

AND ONE FROM BEHIND THE ARC @zhicks1231

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— Penn State Men’s Basketball (@PennStateMBB) February 15, 2025

Hicks tried another shot from deep, this time from the top of the key, but couldn’t knock the shot down. Washington’s Zoom Diallo viciously swatted a Dunn layup attempt away as Franck Kepnang slammed the ball down to capitalize Washington’s 7-0 run on a three minute Penn State scoring drought. Mike Rhoades called a timeout as the lead shrunk to six with four minutes remaining in the first frame.

Kern turned the ball over on Penn State’s possession coming out of the timeout as Kepnang scored to cut the lead to four.

Hicks won another trip to the free-throw line after a foul at the top of the key. He knocked down his three shots to stop Penn State’s bleeding with just over two minutes remaining before the half.

DJ Davis cashed in from downtown for the Huskies to cut Penn State’s lead to only four once more. Baldwin responded with a three from the far side to wash away the score as Kepnang flew towards the rim with a monstrous dunk, collecting the and-one in the process.

Penn State went into the intermission with a 38-34 lead after a shaky final 10 minutes.

Mason scored a corner three on the opening possession of the second half to pull Washington within one point. Diallo notched an and-one to give the Huskies a two-point advantage early in the second frame.

Kern tied it back up at 40-40 with a layup. Konan Niederhauser grabbed the board after a defensive stop as Baldwin drained a three, looking for a spark in Penn State’s offense.

Washington reclaimed the lead behind Tyler Harris’ three-pointer. Konan Niederhauser muscled his way through the paint for two points and then stuffed Kepnang on the other end of the floor. He replicated his score once more to give Penn State the one-point advantage before Kepnang floated his own shot in.

Dunn sunk a triple to push the Nittany Lions to a four-point lead, forcing Washington to call a timeout with 13:51 remaining in the contest.

Washington went on a 2:39 field goal drought and Penn State embarked on a 2:01 scoring drought as both teams struggled to get points midway through the second half before a media timeout.

Baldwin found Stewart wide-open in the corner for three, but Stewart met nothing but air. Kepnang towered over Konan Niederhauser for a score as the Huskies went up by one. Dilione sprinted the other way after the inbound and scored an and-one.

After a Washington miss, Baldwin found himself isolated at the top of the key and drained the triple.

HE'S ON @yeah_ace3

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— Penn State Men’s Basketball (@PennStateMBB) February 15, 2025

Davis responded with his own three and Baldwin missed his next attempt in response. Wilhelm Breidenbach drained a triple for the Huskies from the far side as the lead continued to flip with every change of possession.

Davis drew a foul from Baldwin on his made layup and sunk the foul shot for the and-one and the four-point Washington lead.

Baldwin and Dilione linked up on the other side of the hardwood for a quick score to cut the deficit in half. Dilione cashed in a mid-ranger to pull the game even at 64 with just under six minutes remaining.

Baldwin proceeded to score off the glass as the Bryce Jordan Center crowd amped up the noise. However, Mason drained a three to silence the crowd and hand Washington the lead once more. Mason sunk another triple from the far side for the Huskies to go up two.

Penn State forced a stop, but Hicks’ three-pointer bounced off the rim. Konan Niederhauser couldn’t get the flush to go and Dilione missed a corner three despite back-to-back stops on defense as Washington retained its 70-68 advantage with just under two minutes left.

Davis hit two foul shots to make it a four-point ballgame. Baldwin notched another steal and found Dilione, who rushed towards the cup and secured the and-one to make it a one-point game with just over a minute remaining.

ANOTHER @yeah_ace3 STEAL LEADS TO ANOTHER @Freddiedilione5 AND ONE

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— Penn State Men’s Basketball (@PennStateMBB) February 15, 2025

Davis sunk a corner three to make it a 75-71 game, but Dunn responded with a quick layup to cut the deficit in half.

The Nittany Lions secured possession after a messy Washington inbound, with the chance to tie or take the lead with 40 seconds remaining. Baldwin tried a step-back jumper, but it rattled off the rim. Dilione fouled Diallo, but he missed the foul shot as Konan Niederhauser grabbed the board. Baldwin missed the three-pointer to win as time expired, giving Washington the 75-73 win.

Takeaways

• Grit. Despite losing its 13-point first-half lead, Penn State remained calm and kept pace with Washington even when it looked like the Husky momentum would be too strong to overcome. Despite the loss, the perseverance still put Penn State in a position to win in the end.
• Ace Baldwin Jr. led the way for the Nittany Lions deep into the second half. Baldwin’s clutch shots from distance and steals kept Penn State in the game. Despite the loss and go-ahead miss from three, Baldwin ended his afternoon with 20 points on 6-13 shooting, dishing out eight assists in the process. Baldwin also notched a staggering six steals.
• Yanic Konan Niederhauser had a solid bounce-back performance for the Nittany Lions after fouling out against USC on Tuesday. Konan Niederhauser scored 10 points, grabbed 11 boards, and had a highlight-reel denial on a Husky in the first half.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions remain home to take on Nebraska at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 19, at the Bryce Jordan Center. The matchup serves as the Autism Awareness Game and will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.