STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — With six minutes and 34 seconds left, Penn State seemingly had No. 15 Oregon on the ropes for yet another upset win at the Bryce Jordan Center.
But over those final six and a half minutes, the Ducks outscored the Nittany Lions 23-13, erasing their nine-point deficit and coming away with their fourth straight road win.
“We choked down the stretch,” Rhoades postgame said.
“You know, we want to take pride in the last six minutes of the game, being solid on ‘D’. We gave up two 3s, miscommunication, (we) talk about being solid on defense, we weren’t. And we talked about taking care of the basketball, with two turnovers that led to baskets … We hung in there, got a steal. We did things the right way … But that’s not good enough.”
Rhoades later clarified the “choke” comment.
“I love my team,” he said. “I love these guys. I love how hard they play. That’s on me. I mean, I take pride in how we finish games, close games especially. I need to help our guys more. I choked. We choked as a team. We have to win those games, man.”
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Penn State had momentum heading into the second half after trailing by as many as 14. It was led by Freddie Dilione V’s career-high 21 points, but that wasn’t enough to stave off Oregon.
“The overall outcome was not what we want,” said Dilione V about his career night. “So we’re more focused on the game than a career high.”
The full players’ and coach’s reactions are available down below:
