Balanced Penn State Attack Leads to 85-66 Win Against Fordham

A balanced offensive attack led Penn State to its first 6-0 start in 25 years with an 85-66 win over the Fordham Rams.

Four Nittany Lions scored double digits led by Nick Kern Jr.’s 20-point, 13-rebound double-double. Zach Hicks shot 6-of-9 (three 3’s) from the field for 16 points, while Puff Johnson (15), Ace Baldwin Jr. (12) and Yanic Konan Niederhauser (12) combined for 39 points.

Fordham had four players go over double digits with Joshua River (15) and Jackie Johnson III (15) combining for 30 points.

Overall, Penn State shot 53 percent from the field and 36 percent from 3. Fordham shot 48 percent from the field and 22 percent from deep.

Hicks got the scoring going for Penn State, hitting a dribble pull-up two and an end-of-the-shot clock heave to give PSU an early 5-0 lead. 

A Kern and one putback capitalized a 9-2 scoring run for Penn State, giving it a 10-point advantage early on. 

However, Fordham switched to a 3-2 zone, which proved difficult for Penn State to score against, as the Nittany Lions failed to make a field goal for over two minutes. But, an and-one layup by Hicks ended the 2:49 drought. The Penn State lead was extended to 13 halfway through the first. 

Over the next five minutes, the Rams would go on to close the gap to four after going on a 16-7 run. At one point, they had made seven straight field goals, capped off with a Romad Dean 3-pointer.

A Johnson push shot from inside the free throw line sparked a 13-4 response in favor of the Nittany Lions, recapturing a 13-point edge.

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But Fordham would not go away, as it scored six points over the last 91 seconds, including a tip-in layup by Rivera to make it an eight-point game.

At the intermission, Hicks (10 points), Johnson (9 points) and Kern (8 points) combined for 27 points in the first half.

In the opening minutes of the second, Baldwin was active, scoring six points, but both teams traded blows.

At the 14:25 mark, PSU started to build a lead after a Hicks 3 sparked an 11-1 run. Fueling that run was Kern as he made efforts on the offensive glass and set up a Johnson corner three to make it a 20-point game.

Fordham’s Rivera made a mini personal 7-2 run, highlighted by a poster dunk, but Kern took the reigns after that.

Kern scored 12 of his 20 points in the second half, guiding the Nittany Lions to their sixth straight game of 80-plus points (program record).

Penn State will go on to play the winner of Clemson/San Francisco for the Sunshine Slam Championship tomorrow at 7 p.m.

Gametime has been rescheduled for 4 p.m.