Penn State men’s basketball (15-15, 5-14 Big Ten) lost to No. 15 Maryland (22-7, 12-6 Big Ten) 68-64 on Senior Day in the Bryce Jordan Center.

Ace Baldwin Jr. led the Nittany Lions in points with 18 while Derik Queen led Maryland with 23. Penn State couldn’t quite pull out yet another close game and dropped the matchup with ranked Maryland.

How It Happened

Mike Rhoades rolled out Baldwin, D’Marco Dunn, Freddie Dilione V, Zach Hicks, and Yanic Konan Niederhauser as the starting five for the Senior Day.

Konan Niederhauser won the tip but was called for a travel on the opening possession. Ja’kobi Gillespie opened Maryland’s scoring with back-to-back threes that were followed by a lengthy stoppage for a review.

Hicks came out of the delay and nailed a three from the top of the key before two empty possessions from each side. Gillespie hit a two for Maryland and Konan Niederhauser answered to put Penn State back within three at 8-5. Maryland couldn’t find the bottom of the bucket on the other end of the floor and Dilione knocked down a jumper from the elbow to make it 8-7.

Konan Niederhauser sent back a layup attempt from Queen that brought the first media timeout of the game. Selton Miguel knocked down another three for the Terrapins out of the timeout to push the lead to four at 11-7. He followed it up with a layup after a bad pass from Dunn and the Nittany Lions trailed 13-7.

Dilione found Konan Niederhauser open underneath the basket for a big slam but Maryland answered on the ensuing possession. Maryland stayed hot from three and Rodney Rice connected on a three but Hicks answered and forced a Maryland timeout.

Kern and Dilione both hit jumpers out of the timeout to tie the game at 18-18, but Kern fouled Queen and he made both free throws to go back up by two. Baldwin tied the game up again with two free throws before Julian Reese scored a fastbreak bucket.

Dominick Stewart had two chances to tie the game but couldn’t hit as Reese missed at the other end and Dunn hit a three to take the lead at 23-22. A turnover from Queen led to another media timeout with 7:13 left in the first half.

Dunn added two more layups out of the timeout and Penn State quickly found themselves with a five-point lead. Queen ended the run with Penn State leading 27-24. Queen for the Terrapins back to within one but Baldwin put one through the hoop at the other end to maintain the three-point lead.

Another open Konan Nierderhauser lob attempt was stopped by Queen, and the next trip down was stifled by the rim. Malachi Palmer was called for a foul that was followed by the final media timeout of the half. Hicks made a jumper out of the timeout at the shot clock buzzer and after a miss from Maryland, Baldwin pushed the lead to six with another three.

Maryland’s drought continued and Baldwin pushed the lead to eight with a layup. Konan Niederhauser was called for a foul that the Bryce Jordan Center crowd did not like as Queen scored Maryland’s first points in nearly four minutes.

Penn State held for the last shot but couldn’t hit as Penn State went to the break leading 36-30.

The second half opened with a quick foul on Hicks before Reese connected from the paint. The Nittany Lions couldn’t manage any offense on their first possession of the half and Miguel hit a three to get the Terrapins back to within one.

Dunn answered with a three to go back up by four and a turnover gave Penn State the ball right back, but the Nittany Lions couldn’t do anything with the ball.

Miguel hit a three on the fastbreak but Konan Niederhauser answered with a two on the other end with the score 41-38. Queen made a layup and Reese was tangled up with Konan Niederhauser underneath the basket, prompting a scuffle and a review.

After review, Reese was assessed a flagrant one foul. Konan Niederhauser only hit one shot, and the Nittany Lions couldn’t score on the free possession. Miguel tied the game at 42-42, but Dunn put Penn State back on top with a two.

Gillespie tied the game at 44-44 and Dunn was called for a foul before the first media timeout of the half. Queen gave Maryland a two-point lead out of the timeout and Baldwin had his pocket picked by Gillespie, who went the length of the floor for a layup to make the score 48-44.

Dilione knocked home a contested shot from the paint and Queen was called for an offensive foul on the next trip down to give Penn State the ball with a chance to tie. Konan Niederhauser was rejected down low, but Maryland couldn’t hit and neither could Penn State.

Queen hit both free throws to give Maryland a four-point lead. A few possessions later, Konan Niederhauser was fouled and went 1-2 from the line to make it 50-47. Dilione grabbed a feed from Kern after a turnover and converted a fastbreak layup, forcing a Maryland timeout.

Gillespie nailed a deep three after the timeout and Maryland once again led by four. After a two-minute scoring drought, Queen was fouled and made both shots to push the score to 55-49. Dilione answered with a layup under the basket and a missed Maryland three gave Penn State the ball back.

Baldwin was fouled and made both shots as Penn State started to press. Konan Niederhauser was called for a technical foul, his fourth of the game. Gillespie made two of his three foul shots and Maryland took a four-point lead into the final five minutes.

Gillespie was fouled again and sunk both free throws before Baldwin connected from beyond the arc to get Penn State back to within three. Queen slammed home a dunk and Rhoades called a timeout with 3:42 remaining.

Baldwin was sent to the free throw line and hit both, but Queen answered with a layup and a technical, which Baldwin also turned into two points to make the score 65-62 with three minutes left in the game.

Reese fouled Dunn, who missed both free throws and Maryland kept its three-point lead. Dunn was sent to the line again on the next possession and sunk both to make the score 65-64. The Bryce Jordan Center crescendoed and Maryland called a timeout.

Baldwin was called for his third foul and Queen went to the line, making one foul shot. Maryland held at halfcourt with a minute left leading by four. Konan Niederhauser went way up to get a shot from Queen that was originally called a goaltend, but the call was reversed as Penn State got the ball back with 56 seconds left trailing by two.

Baldwin couldn’t hit and Konan Niederhauser couldn’t come down with the rebound as Maryland went the opposite direction. Rice connected and made it a four-point game with ten seconds left. The Nittany Lions couldn’t hit again, and Maryland dribbled out a 68-64 win.

Takeaways

• D’Marco Dunn was an important piece of the Penn State offense on Saturday. Dunn finished with 14 points and was second in points behind Baldwin with 18.
• Derik Queen was nearly unstoppable for Maryland, and Penn State had trouble with him all game. Queen ended Saturday with 23 points
• Saturday’s game was chippy. Players jawed at each other in the paint, a flagrant and two technicals were called, and it was back-and-forth. Regardless, the Nittany Lions maintained composure throughout and battled through yet another close finish.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will hit the road to take on Wisconsin at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 8. The game will be broadcast on Peacock.