Penn State men’s basketall (12-17, 3-15 Big Ten) beat Iowa (20-9, 10-8 Big Ten) 71-69 at the Bryce Jordan Center on Saturday afternoon.

The Nittany Lions kept pace with the Hawkeyes in the first half due to Freddie Dilione’s three triples in the opening 20 minutes. Penn State played stout defense and didn’t allow the usual big run that dooms it game after game. The second half was Josh Reed’s world. He scored 18 points in the second frame. Penn State never let up and harnessed big rebounds down the stretch to pull out the close win.

How It Happened

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

Iowa won the opening tip and immediately made a move to the cup before Stewart slapped the ball out of bounds. The Nittany Lions remained stout, but couldn’t secure a defensive rebound. Cooper Koch drew first blood from the corner.

Reed tossed up a high-arching three in front of the Iowa bench, but his shot kissed the front iron. The Nittany Lions registered a stop on the other end before Dilione knotted it up from beyond the arc.

The Nittany Lions turned the ball over in the paint in two straight possessions, but didn’t let anything up down the floor. Reed bodied his way through the paint for two points. Both teams exchanged layups before Mingo committed a personal foul going into the under-16 timeout.

Kael Combs floated one in before Stewart clapped back from the corner.

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The Nittany Lions moved the ball around effectively despite a strong Iowa press on their ensuing possession. Dilione made it count with three more points to tie the game up at 13. He hit another one after two more stops to hand Penn State its first lead of the game.

Isaia Howard hit from deep to teeter the lead back in Iowa’s favor. Jurić committed his first personal foul as Mingo checked back into the game. Bennett Stirtz dished out a pass to Tate Sage in the corner, and the Hawkeyes made the Nittany Lions pay once more as they jumped to a five-point advantage.

Reed hit his first 3-pointer of the day to tie the game at 21 with around 8:30 remaining in the first half. Stirtz responded immediately with three points of his own.

Stewart knocked down his second trey to hand Penn State a two-point lead. Koch responded from the corner once more, but Reed laid one in for another lead change.

Dilione continued pouring it on with a mid-range jumper and defensive rebound. The two squads went cold from deep down the stretch. Stirtz ended the first half with a fast-break layup. Iowa led 38-34.

Koch drained a corner three to open the second half for the Hawkeyes. Mingo laid one in off the glass on his way down to the floor. Cam Manyawu slammed one over Jurić before Jurić responded with an and-one.

Tempers flared about four minutes into the second frame after a foul on Stewart. Reed marched the ball down the floor for two quick points to keep pace with the Hawkeyes. Combs floated one out of bounds, searching for Koch in the paint.

Jurić hooked a shot in as he slid on the floor. Stewart got a piece of Alvaro Folgueiras’ shot in the paint, but the Nittany Lions failed to convert on the other end. Penn State forced another stop and Mingo drained a three to put the exclamation point on a 9-0 run over 3:54.

Folgueiras produced the highlight of the game with a big dunk to end Iowa’s field goal drought. Reed responded with a high-arching trey, but Tavion Banks tied the game at 51 with a bucket of his own.

Saša Ciani went down and over for two points in the paint. Dilione eviscerated a Howard layup attempt in the paint, but Stirtz snuck the two points in for the Hawkeyes anyways. Folgueiras knocked the ball out of Melih Tunca’s hands and slammed it down on the fast break.

Reed drained his third triple of the day to hand Penn State a 58-56 lead. Stewart was open in the corner, but Koch closed out quick. The Nittany Lion made his way towards the paint for a mid-range bucket.

Reed tried to pick out Jurić, but the Hawkeyes intercepted the ball and put two points in their favor the other way. Koch snatched Iowa’s lead back with an impressive left-handed layup. He drew the foul and converted from the line for the and-one. The Hawkeyes went back up by three points with just over five minutes remaining in the contest.

Iowa carved up the Penn State defense for an wide-open Manyawu score. Mingo checked out to the locker room after struggling with an injury earlier in the half. It was his first game back without his mask after breaking his nose in early January.

Reed knocked down two free throws out of the under-four media timeout. He made two more in the final two minutes to bring Penn State within one. The Nittany Lions snagged a defensive board. Jurić fed Reed underneath, who laid it in off the glass.

Stirtz missed a mid-ranger. Reed grabbed the rebound as the Bryce Jordan Center erupted.

Stirtz snuck his way to the cup for the game-tying layup. Dilione drove the ball towards the basket on the final possession and drew the foul off Howard. He drained both free throws. Iowa didn’t get a shot off in the final 1.5 seconds. Penn State won 71-69.

Takeaways

• Freddie Dilione V jumpstarted the Nittany Lions with lights-out shooting from downtown in the first half. He eventually cooled off down the stretch, but his shots kept Penn State within striking distance in the first 20 minutes.
• Josh Reed took over in the second half. From solid defense to high-arching 3-pointers to give the Nittany Lions some momentum, he made it happen on the floor. He ended his day with 25 points, three rebounds, and four assists. He shot 3-for-4 from deep.
• Iowa maintained possession and drained immense amounts of clock. Oddly enough, Penn State had more defensive boards than Iowa, but the Hawkeyes grabbed 10 to Penn State’s two on the offensive glass. However, Penn State snagged the boards it needed to in the final minute to sneak away with the win.

What’s Next?

Penn State plays its final home game of the season against Ohio State at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 4. Folks can follow along with the Nittany Lions’ Senior Night on Peacock.