A 15-point first-half deficit proved too much for Penn State to come back from in its 76-80 loss to Rutgers.
Zach Hicks led Penn State with 20 points (6-of-9 from 3) followed by Freddie Dilione V (14 points) and Nick Kern Jr. (10 points). Ace Baldwin Jr. contributed eight points (3-of-14 shooting), seven assists and four steals.
Dylan Harper led all scorers with a 24-point, 12-rebound double-double. Ace Bailey also had a double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds.
Overall, Penn State shot 44 percent from the field and 39 percent from 3. Rutgers shot 48 percent from the field and 36 percent from deep.
Penn State was the first to the scoreboard off a driving, scooping layup for Puff Johnson (nine points).ย
Consecutive buckets by Hicks gave PSU an early 7-2 lead, as the Nittany Lions started 3-of-6 from the field.ย
However, Penn State would hit a cold stretch, allowing Rutgers to tie the game (7-7) off a Harper deep 3-ball.ย
The run would continue for Rutgers, especially for Harper who scored 11 of the Scarlet Knights’ next 18 points, fueling an 18-8 Rutgers’ run. ย
PSU struggled from the field throughout the first half, allowing Rutgers to build a 10-point lead by the 8:45 mark.ย
A Baldwin 3 got Penn State to within seven (26-33), but a Tyson Acuff 3 regained the 10-point advantage for Rutgers.
The Nittany Lions trailed for a majority of the opening half, as the Scarlet Knights’ 3-point shooting (8-of-18 in the first half) kept the distance on the scoreboard. A Jeremiah Williams buzzer-beating 3-pointer capped off a 12-7 run by the Scarlet Knights to give them their largest lead of the game.
PSU shot 37 percent from the field and trailed two attempts to 10 attempts from the free-throw line entering halftime.
To start the second half, Harper delivered a pinpoint pass out of a soft double team to Emmanuel Ogbole for the first bucket.
Dilione responded with his own personal 7-0 run, including a transition pull-up three, forcing a Rutgers timeout after the lead was cut to 10.
By the under-16 media timeout, Dilione had all nine of PSU’s second-half points but Rutgers still led by 12 (54-42).
Zach Hicks sparked an 8-0 run to pull Penn State within seven, but Baldwin’s fourth personal put Harper on the line (1-for-2 trip) to extend the lead back to double digits.
The Nittany Lions continued to battle, though, cutting the lead down three off a 10-2 run punctuated by a Hicks 3 at the 3:27 mark.
A field goal drought and free-throw struggles for Rutgers allowed Penn State to continue to chip away at the lead. This trend led to a Baldwin one-legged baseline fadeaway to make it a two-point game with 1:11 left.
After a timeout by Penn State, Baldwin tried to set up a backdoor pass for Hicks but it was disrupted by Bailey, leading to a bucket by the star freshman to make it a four-point game.
Johnson would go 1-for-2 at the charity stripe, allowing Bailey to seal the game on a free throw, bringing the final score to 80-76.
Penn State will face Coppin State on Saturday in the Bryce Jordan Center at 12:30 p.m.
