Penn State men’s basketball (9-11, 0-9 Big Ten) lost to Ohio State (14-6, 6-4 Big Ten) by a score of 84-78 despite a second-half push at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus Monday night.

The Nittany Lions caught fire from three-point range in the second half, but couldn’t close the gap, although they got 20 points from Eli Rice and a 14-point, 14-rebound double-double from Ivan Juric.

How It Happened

Penn State went with its same starting lineup of Kayden Mingo, Dominick Stewart, Rice, Josh Reed, and Juric.

Juric committed a foul on the game’s opening tipoff, and Ohio State cashed in with a John Mobley Jr. fadeaway two. Juric answered for Penn State with a layup off the dribble, but Devin Royal got one back on the other end.

The Nittany Lions got their first lead at 5-4 when Stewart assisted Rice for a three. However, it faded quickly with a spinning bucket by Amare Bynum and right-wing three by Mobley before the first media timeout.

After former Nittany Lion Puff Johnson, who recently gained a sixth year of eligibility, checked in, Freddie Dilione V made two free throws, while Royal quickly dropped in a layup. Juric then grabbed a Dilione miss and cleaned it up for a putback layup.

Tunca’s first shot was a missed three, which led to a Bruce Thornton three-pointer, and the Buckeyes’ leading scorer nailed it for his first points, and on the following possession, Johnson got his first basket with an and-one inside.

After Johnson missed the foul shot, Penn State turned it back over, and Taison Chatman knocked down a three. Reed ended the 8-0 run, but Mobley canned another deep shot to put Ohio State up 22-11. Royal then made one more free throw, and after a Rice missed triple, Chatman scored on the fastbreak to make it a 14-2 Buckeye run and force a timeout.

Mingo’s first points came when he was fouled on a drive and made both shots, and Dilione did the same on the ensuing possession. A Chatman dunk and Reed fadeaway kept Penn State down by 10, but Ohio State made it 29-17 on its next trip with an elbow jumper by Royal with 7:13 to go in the half.

Both sides went cold after the media timeout, but Bynum ended the slump with an Ohio State layup. Stewart then answered with a corner three of a Mingo skip pass. Bynum then scored inside once again, while Juric made a pick-and-pop triple to cut the deficit back to 10.

Following the half’s final media timeout, Royal, Rice, and Mobley all hit threes as Ohio State took a 39-26 lead, which stayed at 13 after Rice and Bynum’s short jumpshots. Stewart then turned the ball over, and Bynum converted an and-one to make it 44-28.

With just over a minute left in the first, two Mobley free throws made it a 7-0 run, but Tunca ended it with two of his own at the foul line before Bynum scored again off a backdoor alley-oop from Thornton.

On the last two possessions of the half, Reed made two free throws, while Thornton spun through traffic for a layup, and the Buckeyes went to the locker room with a 50-32 advantage.

The second half got underway with Rice’s third three before a wide-open slam for Ivan Njegovan. Penn State also got a basket from Mingo and two free throws from Reed as the charity stripe remained a bright spot for the blue and white.

A missed baseline floater by Johnson led to a runout and left-wing three for Stewart, and Penn State then got back within 10 off a Juric jam, capping a 7-0 run heading into the first media stoppage of the half. Njegovan ended the spurt with two foul shots.

Dilione and Njegovan scored back and forth twos before Rice hit another triple and Dilione laid it in as Penn State cut its deficit to 58-51 and forced a Buckeye timeout with 12:47 remaining. Rice then dropped in another one from deep, and the lead was just four. However, Thornton re-exented it with an and-one layup.

Following the under-12 media timeout, Juric sank two free throws, and Reed made a post-up and-one jumper to bring Penn State within a single point via a 13-2 run.

Ohio State responded by making it 69-61 behind its guard play, led by jumpers from Mobley and Thornton. Tunca’s second field goal of the night was a crafty elbow jumper to trim it back down to a six-point contest prior to two Royal foul shots.

Quick ball movement from the Buckeyes gave Mobley an open look from three, and he was pure to put his team back on top by 11 and force Mike Rhoades to take a timeout. After breaking the huddle, Tunca banked in a three.

Juric split a pair of free throws while Bynum scored inside again, but Tunca put in another layup to keep it a seven-point game. However, Chatman rattled in a mid-range shot to make it 78-69 before the final media break.

On the first trip down the floor after the stoppage, Tunca just missed a three, but a Juric offensive rebound led Tunca to two free throws, which he made as Njegovan fouled out. Mobley made a long deuce that was answered by a Reed layup.

With 24 seconds left, Reed blocked a lob attempt, and Tunca kicked it to Rice for a corner three to make it 80-76 Buckeyes. Penn State’s full-court pressure forced an Ohio State timeout, but it then inbounded to Mobley, who made both shots after getting fouled by Juric.

Juric misfired on a three and Chatman sank two more free throws, while Juric tipped it in with the clock ticking down, and Penn State lost 84-78.

Takeaways

• While it’s been a struggle at points throughout the season, the free-throw line favored Penn State and kept it in the game tonight, going 18-for-21 compared to Ohio State’s 16-for-21.
• Rice got back to his high potential from beyond the arc in this game, making six threes on 11 attempts.
• One of the bright spots this season has been Penn State’s lack of turnovers, but it had 18 tonight, forcing just nine by the Buckeyes.

What’s Next?

Penn State will look to end its losing streak on the road once again when it faces Northwestern at 8 p.m. on Thursday, January 29, at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The game will be streamed on Peacock.