Penn State men’s basketball (5-1, 0-0 Big Ten) fell to Providence (4-2, 0-1 Big East) 77-65 at Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday afternoon.

The Nittany Lions played a close first half, but surrendered a barrage of points in quick succession to start the second half. Penn State couldn’t get back in front.

How It Happened

Mike Rhoades once again went with the starting five of Kayden Mingo, Melih Tunca, Eli Rice, Josh Reed, and Ivan Jurić.

Providence won the tip, but missed the first shot of the game. On Penn State’s first offensive possession, Stefan Vaaks poked the ball away from Josh Reed to force an early turnover that converted into an easy transition bucket for Providence. Eli Rice quickly knocked down a three-pointer to put Penn State back on top 3-2.

Fresh off the bench, Freddie Dilione V knocked down a deep ball to keep Penn State up 6-4. Providence’s Oswin Erhunmwunse showed his dominance in the paint, single-handedly putting together a 5-0 run to give the Friars a 9-6 lead. Reed managed to tap in a missed layup after three tries to bring the Nittany Lions within one point.

Out of the first media timeout, Jaylin Sellers converted another Penn State turnover into a fast break bucket, but Tunca answered with a floater in the paint to cut the lead to 11-10. After a defensive rebound, Dilione pushed the tempo and drew a foul because of it. The redshirt junior made both free throws to give the blue and white a 12-11 lead.

Penn State’s momentum continued to grow after another three-pointer from Dilione and a fast-break bucket from Tunca. Mingo picked up his second early foul, prompting Rhoades to bring him off the floor before he could put up a single shot attempt.

Sellers splashed a three-pointer to give Providence an 18-17 lead. The scorching hot Dilione found another pair of buckets, slithering through the paint for a crafty left-hand finish and then knocking down his third three-pointer of the game on the next possession.

Both teams traded two-point buckets, keeping Penn State up 26-20. An airball from Rice flipped possession back to Providence, where Erhunmwunse got a layup to fall to make it a 26-23 game. The game stayed tight after a friendly bounce allowed a deep ball to fall for Corey Floyd Jr. Penn State’s offensive drought continued after Dilione couldn’t get a layup to fall, giving Providence a fast break to take a 30-29 lead.

With just over two minutes remaining before halftime, Saša Ciani earned a trip to the line and made both shots to put Penn State back on top. An offensive goaltending call on Erhunmwunse caused a lengthy review, but the officials upheld it, draining Providence of a crucial challenge.

Dilione sank a pull-up three at the buzzer, but didn’t get it off in time after review, sending Penn State into the locker room down 32-31.

Providence came bursting out of the gates to begin the second half, pouring on seven points in under a minute and forcing Penn State to burn an absurdly early timeout.

Out of the timeout, Sellers flushed a hard dunk to extend the 41-31 lead. At last, Dilione ended the scoring drought with a shallow jump shot. Jurić also got a layup to fall, bringing Penn State within six points of the Friars. Both teams traded three-pointers to make it 47-39 at the 16:00 mark.

Mingo finally let a shot fly with 15 minutes remaining in the game, knocking down a left-handed push shot in the paint. Providence continued to turn defense into offense, as Jones and Sellers each found fast-break points. After getting pick-pocketed on the prior possession, Reed bounced back by converting an and-one opportunity to cut the lead to 53-46. Tunca kept the scoring going, splashing a deep ball just before a media timeout.

Reed rattled home a three-pointer to bring Penn State within one possession. Vaaks knocked down a pair of mid-range jumpers to put Providence up 60-52, but Penn State answered with a pair of two-pointers from Dilione V and Mirtic. Sellers couldn’t get a transition layup to fall, but Erhunmwunse followed him and scooped up the rebound for a second-chance score. Dilione knocked down his fourth three-pointer of the night to make it a 64-59 ballgame.

Jurić kept the momentum going with another two-pointer, bringing Penn State within a possession. A Dilione two-pointer cut it to 64-63. Providence shot four free throws over the next two possessions, making them all to go back up 67-63.

Tunca split the defense for a craft reverse layup to answer for the Nittany Lions. Vaaks put together a game-sealing sequence, draining a three-pointer, plucking a turnover, and then knocking down another three to put Providence 74-65 with just 1:35 left in the game.

Penn State surrendered a back-breaking offensive rebound and a second-chance bucket to Erhunmwuse that effectively ended the game.

Takeaways

• Freddie Dilione V was the engine for Penn State tonight. He got off to a fast start, scoring 13 points in the first half. He made timely buckets to keep Penn State in striking distance. Dilione finished with 22 points on 8-18 shooting.
• Kayden Mingo easily had his worst performance of the season, thanks mostly to foul trouble. Mingo picked up a pair of early hacks, restricting him to just five minutes in the first half and limiting him to a season-low 8 shots on the day.
• A major difference-maker tonight was Penn State’s inability to generate offense off turnovers, as well as its struggles to defend in transition. Providence scored 17 points off turnovers compared to Penn State’s four.

What’s Next?

Penn State returns home to the Bryce Jordan Center for a matchup against Boston University on Tuesday, November 25, at 7 p.m.