Penn State men’s basketball (8-3, 0-2 Big Ten) came up short against No. 9 Michigan State (9-1, 2-0 Big Ten) 76-72 in the Bryce Jordan Center on Saturday afternoon.

Penn State came back from multiple deficits, including a double-digit first-half Spartan lead, but was unable to complete the upset over Michigan State at home. The Nittany Lions fell to 0-2 in Big Ten play.

How It Happened

Ivan Jurić won the opening tip for Penn State, but Melih Tunca was unable to connect on the corner three off the feed from Kayden Mingo. Jaxon Kohler got the rebound off Jesse McCulloch’s shot and put it back for two to get the Spartans on the board.

After Mingo turned the ball over near midcourt, Divine Ugochukwu connected on a mid-range jumper. Mingo let go of the free-throw line floater but wasn’t able to get his initial shot to go. Mingo got his own rebound and put it back to get Penn State on the board. Ugochukwu responded on the other end with a corner three, giving Michigan State an early 7-2 lead.

Kohler drove down the lane to the hoop and threw it down with two hands to extend the Michigan State lead, but the Nittany Lions responded with back-to-back buckets from Mingo and a tip-in from Josh Reed. Carson Cooper answered for Michigan State, but was immediately matched by Freddie Dilione V inside.

A flagrant foul was called on Reed, sending Cooper to the line, where he made both free throws. On the next Michigan State possession, Coen Carr was fouled on his way up, splitting his pair at the line. Dilione looked to close the gap with a shot from deep, but he was unable to knock down the jumper. On the other end, with time expiring on the Spartan shot clock, Kur Teng buried a three from the top of the key, making it 17-8.

Dilione forced Denham Wojcik into a turnover and then connected on a three-pointer for the Nittany Lions. After both teams traded turnovers, Saša Ciani was fouled by Jeremy Fears Jr., sending him to the line. Ciani made both free throws, closing the gap to 17-13.

Trey Fort and Reed exchanged missed attempts from deep, and after securing the rebound after a second missed three from Fort, Dillione found Jurić down court to get the bucket inside. Fort shot another three and connected. Jurić responded for the Nittany Lions with a tip-in, and on the next offensive possession, Jurić knocked down a three to tie the game at 20.

Dilione gave Penn State its first lead of the game on the next offensive possession, but Fears responded with a tough falling layup. Mingo fed a wide-open Tibor Mirtič inside to take the lead back. After a Spartan miss, Mingo pulled up from the top of the key, connecting from deep to give the Nittany Lions a five-point lead.

Dilione forced another Spartan turnover, and then was fouled by Fears on his way to the cup. The play was reviewed, and Fears was assessed a flagrant foul. Dilione made both free throws. On the Nittany Lions’ ensuing possession, Mirtič hit the turnaround jumper from just outside the paint. Kohler answered for Michigan State, putting an end to the 16-2 Penn State run.

With 4:32 to go in the half, Teng knocked down his second three-pointer. Michigan State forced Penn State into a shot-clock violation on the next possession, but Carr lost the ball out of bounds underneath the Nittany Lion basket, handing the ball right back to Penn State. Dilione found an open Tunca for three, and he wasted no time knocking down the shot from distance. Kohler put back the Michigan State miss on the other end, bringing the score to 34-29 in Penn State’s favor.

Carr exploded to the hoop, throwing down the feed from Jordan Scott with authority. Eli Rice tried to save a ball going out of bounds, but he threw it right to Kohler for the easy deuce inside. He made up for his mistake, though, immediately knocking down a three-pointer on the other end. Scott answered with a corner three for Michigan State to make it a one-point game. On the last possession of the half, Mingo fed Mirtič underneath, hitting the reverse layup to send the Nittany Lions into the break up 39-36.

Penn State opened the second half by forcing Michigan State into a shot clock violation. Cooper stripped the ball from Mingo and hit Ugochukwu down court for the two. Dominick Stewart airballed from deep for Penn State before Ugochukwu hit a corner three to give Michigan State a 41-39 lead.

Juric looked to answer with a three, but his shot was no good. Reed cleaned up the offensive rebound and put it back for two to get Penn State on the board in the second half. Ugochukwu scored again for Michigan State, bringing his total up to 12. Tunca and Mingo missed three-pointers on back-to-back possessions for Penn State. Cam Ward bodied his way into the paint for Michigan State, getting his first bucket to fall.

Teng hit two free throws to extend the Michigan State lead to six, and then both teams exchanged turnovers on their offensive ends. Stewart let go of a top-of-the-key three, but couldn’t connect on his second attempt of the game. On the other end, Scott hit a three-pointer and drew the foul on Stewart, completing the four-point play at the line, giving Michigan State a 10-point lead in the blink of an eye.

Mingo connected on a jumper, and after a Michigan State miss, Rice went to the cup and scored while drawing the foul. Reed hit the free throw to make a five-point game. After getting multiple stops, Jurić and Dilione hit back-to-back threes for Penn State, taking the lead back at 52-51 in the midst of an 11-0 run.

McCulloch hit two free throws to give Michigan State the lead back. After a Penn State miss, Fears drove to the basket for two. Dilione looked to answer with a three-pointer, but his shot was no good. Tunca got the offensive rebound and put it back to close the gap back to one. An offensive rebound for Michigan State led to Ugochukwu’s third triple of the game, giving Michigan State a 58-54 lead with 10 minutes to go in the half.

Off the inbound, Mingo found Dilione near the free-throw line for the easy two. Ward looked to make something happen inside, but lost the ball out of bounds. Mingo tied the game with a layup high off the glass, but after Mirtic stole the ball, the Nittany Lions gave it right back to Michigan State after an illegal screen call. Ugochukwu was blocked by Ciani. Mingo pushed upcourt and found Dilione for two, taking the lead back at 60-58.

Cooper knocked down two free throws for the Spartans to tie the game with 7:20 to play. Ciani and Kohler exchanged buckets inside, but Rice topped both of them with an and-one, also hitting the free throw to give the Nittany Lions a three-point advantage. Fears added two points at the line for Michigan State, and Dilione did the same for Penn State on its next possession, bringing his total to 18.

Both teams traded empty possessions before Cooper was fouled on his way up to the basket. He hit both free throws to make it a 67-66 game in favor of Penn State. After a defensive breakdown by Penn State, Ugochukwu hit another three-pointer, forcing Mike Rhoades to call a timeout.

With 2:02 remaining, Dilione was unable to connect on the lead-taking triple. In crunch time, Cooper missed his spinning layup attempt, giving Penn State the stop they needed. Dilione was fouled in the bonus, sending him to the line. Dilione missed the free throw. With under a minute to go, Ugochukwu connected on his fifth three-pointer in as many tries, bringing his total to a career-high 21 points.

Up 72-67 with 36.7 seconds left, Fears went one-for-two at the line. Dilione answered with a quick deuce to make it 73-69. Dilione hit from deep to make it 74-72 with 8.1 to go, and then Ugochukwu was fouled. He made both free throws, making it a two-possession game. Mingo let go of one last shot as the clock expired as Michigan State won the game 76-72.

Takeaways

• Penn State had answers for everyone except Ugochukwu. He was a perfect 5-for-5 from three, finishing with 23 points. He hit the go-ahead three with just over two minutes left and the dagger in the final minute to cap off a career-best performance.
• The Nittany Lions scored 42 bench points and stayed in the game despite shooting just 27.6% from three. However, that positive was erased by 23 Michigan State points off turnovers.
• Despite losing, Penn State continuously battled back. The Nittany Lions erased a double-digit deficit, dominated the boards early, and closed the gap back down to two in the final minute.

What’s Next?

Penn State will have the week to prepare before hitting the road to face Pitt at noon on Saturday, December 21, at the GIANT Center. Broadcast information is yet to be announced.