A Nick Kern Jr. transition dunk put 100 points on the scoreboard and stamped a comeback victory for Penn State (PSU) against Purdue-Fort Wayne. PSU’s 102-89 win earned it its first 5-0 start since the 2019-20 season.
Ace Baldwin Jr. flirted with a triple-double (seven rebounds, 11 assists) and led all scorers with 25 points. Zach Hicks continued his career year with 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting from three. Yanic Konan Niederhauser (16 points, 11 rebounds), Kern (13), Puff Johnson (11) and Freddie Dilione V (11) combined for 51 in the win.
Purdue-Fort Wayne’s Jalen Jackson set a new career high with 31, while Corey Hadnot II (20) and Eric Mulder (12) combined for 32.
Overall, Penn State shot 56 percent from the field, 44 percent from three and had 22 points off 10 Mastodon turnovers. Purdue-Fort Wayne finished on 44 percent shooting from the field and 43 percent from deep.
To start the game, both teams got off to a slow start, shooting a combined 4-of-16 through the first four minutes of the game.
Penn State got out to an early 8-2 lead, but Purdue-Fort Wayne responded with a 16-9 run by the 10:54 mark.
Purdue-Fort Wayne took care of the ball in the first half, only coughing up three turnovers. This ball security stalled Penn State’s scoring, as it could never find a flow.
PSU shot 11-for-29 overall (2-for-11 from 3) in the first half. From the 11:51 mark until 5:17, the Nittany Lions made only 3-of-11 shots, allowing the Mastodons to grab a 30-28 lead.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Over the final five minutes, Purdue-Fort Wayne outscored Penn State 17-13, which was tampered by the fact the Nittany Lions had a large advantage at the charity stripe (17-23 compared to the visitor’s 7-10). PSU headed into the intermission trailing 47-41. At one point, they trailed by as many as 11.
To open the second, Baldwin erupted for 10 points in under two minutes to give the Nittany Lions a 51-47 advantage. Then, Dilione converted an and-one opportunity and two more free throws to make it a 15-5 run in the first three minutes of the half.
Both teams went back and forth at the beginning of the half, but hot shooting (9-of-14 from 3 in the second) fueled a 21-11 run to allow Penn State to gain a 13-point edge with 4:10 left.
Purdue-Fort Wayne trailed by as many as 17 but continued to stick around, even getting within single digits with 1:26 left. But a Nick Kern lob to Niederhauser extended the lead back to double digits, effectively securing the win.
Baldwin (15) and Hicks (12) combined for 27 points in the second.
Penn State will travel to Daytona Beach, Florida., to continue the Sunshine Slam. Its next opponent is Fordham on Monday at 4 p.m.
