Penn State men’s basketball (10-14, 1-12 Big Ten) lost a heartbreaker to USC (18-6, 7-6) 77-75 on Sunday afternoon at the Bryce Jordan Center.

Freddie Dilione V led the way in scoring for Penn State with 23 points, and Alijah Arenas had the game-winner with 0.7 seconds to play for USC to finish his day with 24 points.

How It Happened

Ivan Jurić was inserted back into the starting lineup by Mike Rhoades after missing the last two games with a sickness. Jurić and the Nittany Lions handled the opening tip, but went empty on their opening possession. Jacob Cofie connected on an elbow jumper, and USC began the scoring.

Josh Reed tied it up at two a few trips up the floor later, and then Dilione gave Penn State an early lead wth a transition layup. The game was tied at six apiece at the under-sixteen media timeout. The Trojans grabbed their first lead of the afternoon off an Alijah Arenas 3-pointer.

Jordan Marsh checked into the game for USC and knocked down a triple, but Jurić countered with a trey of his own. Penn State trailed by one with under twelve minutes to play in the half. Out of the timeout, 7’5″ Trojan Gabe Dynes blocked Justin Houser at the rim in a battle of the tallest bigs. Dominick Stewart drilled a triple a few possessions later, and the blue and white had the lead again.

Dilione went back to work on the offensive end of the court, as the flow of the game picked up. Reed and Ezra Ausar traded buckets from there, and it was all tied at 25 with 7:38 to play. Dilione drilled another 3-pointer out of the timeout for Penn State.

DILIONE from three
pic.twitter.com/xdlp3D0XOh

— Onward State (@OnwardState) February 8, 2026

A couple of Nittany Lion turnovers in a row forced Rhoades to call a timeout, trailing 32-28. Jurić showed off his post moves to bring the score back to within one possession. Each traded buckets on the ensuing possessions. A nasty turnaround jumper from Dilione tied it once again at 34 with under three left.

The Penn State lead blossomed to six points in the midst of a 10-0 run to close out the first half. Kam Woods grabbed one more layup before halftime. The Nittany Lions took a 40-36 lead into the break.

Jurić and Stewart both connected with jumpers to start the second half strong for Penn State and expand its lead. Dilione went back to work in the mid-range, and the Nittany Lions found themselves leading 48-38. Dilione flushed home a dunk off a steal and feed from Ming,o and the Bryce Jordan Center was rocking early in the second half.

Ausar and Jurić traded buckets before the under-sixteen media timeout. Jerry Easter II scored his first bucket of the game, but once again Dilione countered ahead of the timeout. Arenas found an opening at the elbow and swished a jumper to cut into the deficit. Melih Tunca had an opportunity to extend the lead, but missed on his one-and-one chance at the foul line.

The Trojans kept coming, and the lead was down to five for Penn State after a 6-0 run for USC. Jurić fouled Dynes and had to leave the game with his fourth personal foul. Mingo and Woods traded points after a flagrant foul was assessed to USC before the under-twelve timeout.

Woods took Houser to the rima and drew the and-one, and USC had the lead 56-55. The Trojans were in the middle of a dominating 14-2 second-half run. Dilione jumped the passing lanes on defense and was fouled at the rim, but only made one of two from the charity stripe.

Dynes corralled an offensive rebound and putback to extend the visitors’ lead to 60-56. Stewart went to the reverse layup, and the lead was down to two points with 6:57 remaining. USC kept the momentum rolling on the offensive end, and the lead was up to six.

Unselfish basketball, folks!pic.twitter.com/TxbacMQBYn

— Onward State (@OnwardState) February 8, 2026

Jurić returned from the bench and quickly got back to work, converting on an and-one with less than six minutes to play. Mingo followed it up with a floater in the paint, and the advantage had evaporated in seconds. Reed powered his way to the hoop, and his left-handed layup gave Penn State the 65-64 lead.

Another Trojan triple regained them the lead with 3:30 to play at the last media timeout. Dilione missed one of two at the foul line out of the timeout. Jacob Coffie went high off the glass and scored, and the Trojans led 69-66. Reed responded with another bucket, and it was a one-point game with 1:40 left.

Arenas got a lucky bounce on a deep 3-pointer to silence the crowd with Penn State trailing by four points. Reed showed his leadership once again and drilled a triple with less than a minute to go. Stewart fouled Arenas with 37 seconds to play, and the freshman knocked down both shots. Trailing by three points, Stewart found some English over the lengthy USC post presence to cut it to one again.

Arenas went back to the charity stripe with 17 seconds to play and missed one to give Penn State an opportunity. Dillione seized it and went coast to coast to tie the game at 75 with seven seconds left. Arenas took control of the final play and scored in the paint with 0.7 seconds left to give USC the 77-75 road win.

Takeaways

• The return of the Nittany Lions post presence proved to be crucial, as Jurić had 13 points in his return, and Houser had three points, three rebounds, and three blocks off the bench.
• The offense is running through Dilione at the moment. The junior has played well in Big Ten play, and alongside Mingo, he has looked as polished as ever recently. Dilione finished with 23 points while shooting above 50% from the field.
• Penn State wasn’t good enough in the final 10 minutes. Turnovers, missed free throws, and lack of offense led to the Nittany Lions’ demise.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions travel to the West Coast to battle Washington at 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 11. The game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.