Penn State men’s basketball (11-14, 2-12 Big Ten) survived Washington (12-13, 4-10 Big Ten) 63-60 in Alaska Airlines Arena on Wednesday night.

A fast-paced first half made its way into the second half behind a solid performance from Josh Reed. Penn State and Washington duked out fifteen lead changes all the way into the final possession, where the Huskies’ Wesley Yates III bricked the game-tying trey as time expired. The Nittany Lions snuck out with their first Big Ten road win of the season.

How It Happened

Mike Rhoades rolled with the starting lineup of Kayden Mingo, Freddie Dilione V, Dominick Stewart, Ivan Jurić, and Josh Reed.

Mingo made Penn State’s first points of the game from deep after a quick Washington score. He lost his handle on the Nittany Lions’ next possession, which Wesley Yates III took down the court for two points.

Stewart knocked down Penn State’s second trey of the night before Yates made his third basket to tie the game up at six.

Mingo misfired, and Bryson Tucker responded with a 3-pointer of his own. Washington challenged an out-of-bounds call on Jurić and won it, handing possession back to the Huskies. Hannes Steinbach made his way to the glass, but Jurić played it aggressively to thwart the attempt. Stewart turned the ball over on a pass heading into the under-16 media timeout.

Steinbach bodied Jurić for an easy score as Washington carved its way to a five-point lead. Jurić responded with a quick score in the paint.

Penn State made a solid run of four consecutive field goals with a stop on Steinbach in between. Eli Rice capped off a 6-0 run in under a minute as Penn State claimed a one-point lead and Washington called a timeout.

Mingo fed Reed underneath for a solid floater after Tucker misfired from deep out of the timeout. Yates made his way through Penn State’s defense for a layup, but couldn’t make it fall. Mingo took advantage with a burst through the lane to extend the Nittany Lions’ scoring run to 10-0 over almost three minutes.

Mingo met the front iron from the top of the key. Zoom Diallo met the back iron on an attempt of his own. Both teams went cold at the start of the final 10 minutes of the first half, with Penn State having a 2:30 scoring drought and Washington scoring one of 10 field goals. Steinbach broke the Huskies’ deadlock with back-to-back buckets before the under-eight media timeout.

Steinbach made a free throw out of the timeout to knot the game up at 20. Reed missed a left-handed shot in the paint, but Diallo turned it right back over on the other end. Yates snagged it from Reed and Quimari Peterson converted from 3-point range. The Huskies went up 23-20.

Dilione missed a mid-ranger as Justin Houser slapped the ball to the backcourt to retain possession. Reed made a quick bucket to keep pace. He drew a foul on the Nittany Lions’ next possession and sunk both foul shots to teeter the advantage back in Penn State’s favor.

Dilione floated for an acrobatic finish at the rim before Houser showed more rebounding expertise on the defensive glass. Rice popped and drained a three to hand Penn State a calm four-point lead with three minutes remaining in the first half.

Mingo snagged the ball from Diallo and tossed it to Dilione, who was rejected by Steinbach. Dilione flew into the first row as Washington went back up the floor. Diallo made a layup high off the glass on his way to the ground. Both teams continued to exchange buckets as an already fast half picked up the pace even more. Rhoades called a timeout to slow it down. Penn State led 33-29 with just under two minutes left in the half.

Tunca hit a fadeaway jumper, and Franck Kepnang failed a dunk attempt on the other end. Peterson knocked down a high-arching 3-pointer as the shot clock expired. The play went under review for a shot clock violation, but it stood. Mingo tried to beat the buzzer at the half, but his floater didn’t fall. Penn State led 35-32 after 20 minutes.

Yates tied the game with a transition three to open the second half. Diallo sank two free throws as Washington reclaimed the lead for the game’s 10th lead change. Stewart tried a corner three to no avail.

Mingo kicked out to Reed for three after a steal, and he knocked it down right in front of Rhoades. Rice tried his hand, but the ball lacked wings to fly all the way in.

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Mingo found Reed again, and he continued his hot hand. He converted from deep down the wing for his 14th point of the night to cap off eight points in less than five minutes of second-half action.

Reed snagged a defensive rebound, which converted into a solid Mingo layup high off the glass on the other end.

Steinbach tipped a ball just in for an and-one to bring Washington back within two points. The Washington freshman notched his 16th double-double of the year, good for first in the Big Ten.

Peterson scored a quick three as the Huskies snatched back the lead 49-48 with around nine minutes remaining in the contest. Houser committed his fourth foul of the night, which Steinbach took advantage of with two made free throws. Dilione drew a hard foul off of Kepnang on the other end and tied the game at 51.

Saša Ciani came away with a big steal, but the Nittany Lions handed it right back to the Huskies on the offensive side.

Steinbach drilled a surprise three to start the home stretch. Dilione hit a fadeaway jumper in response. Mingo picked out Reed down the far wing for three. Tunca had a golden opportunity to score a layup on a cross-court heave from Reed, but the ball took an unlucky bounce off the rim. Diallo cleaned up a Steinbach miss in the paint.

Reed fed Rice in the corner, but his shot didn’t fall. Diallo and Mingo traded buckets before Washington called a timeout with 2:54 remaining. The game was tied at 57.

Kepnang flushed two points over Dilione. Dilione returned the favor with a jumper. Peterson tried to pick out Steinbach through the paint, and Dilione snagged the ball right back. Mingo tried to lay it in, and officials called goaltending on Kepnang, handing Penn State a 61-59 lead.

Diallo missed on a drive to the cup. Mingo snagged the board and led the ball back up the floor. Kepnang tipped the ball out of Mingo’s grasp, but was called for a foul. Mingo didn’t sink the free throw.

Steinbach was fouled in the paint on Washington’s subsequent possession. He missed his first foul shot before Danny Sprinkle called a timeout with 22.1 seconds left. He made his second free throw.

Reed inbounded it to Rice near midcourt, who was immediately fouled. Rice sank both free throws, and Penn State won possession on the other end after a stout defensive stand. However, Reed turned the ball back over after moving during the inbound.

Peterson tried his hand from deep. The ball rolled out from the baseline after a tussle for possession, leaving 0.01 seconds remaining on the clock. After a review, the ball crossed the baseline with 0.06 seconds remaining, leaving enough time for a Washington catch-and-shoot opportunity. Yates got the shot off, but it came right off the front iron. Penn State held on the 63-60 win.

Takeaways

• While Penn State has been shooting fewer 3-pointers compared to early in the season, the Nittany Lions have done more damage with fewer shots in recent games. Penn State went 5-for-13 from downtown against the Huskies.
• Washington came into the matchup second in the Big Ten in paint points per game, but Penn State didn’t let the big bodies of Steinbach and Kepnang bully them out of the way. The Nittany Lions won the paint points battle with 32 to Washington’s 30.
• Fifteen lead changes. Gritty, gritty win by Penn State. Hanging on late in the game is exactly what Rhoades has emphasized through much of the season. Could this be a late-season spark?

What’s Next?

Penn State will remain on the West Coast for a Valentine’s Day date with Oregon at 3 p.m. on Saturday, February 14, in Matthew Knight Arena. The match will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.