Once again, Penn State men’s basketball had a lead, and once again, it lost.
Make that seven in a row for coach Mike Rhoades and his program, and this one was just as gut-wrenching for fans as the first six, if not more so.
Penn State played a bad Washington team (3-10 in the Big Ten coming in) that traveled across the country, and still lost, 75-73.
Ace Baldwin’s 3-point attempt at the buzzer fell just short.
Penn State got off to a good start, leading 4-0, and then responded well with a 5-0 run after Washington went ahead 5-4.
A 3 by D’Marco Dunn pushed the lead to 18-12 right before the U12 media timeout.
By the 8:53 mark, Penn State had a double digit lead at 27-17.
Washington hung in, though, and cut the deficit to six by the last media timeout of the first half.
At halftime, Penn State led 38-34. Zach Hicks and Ace Baldwin made up most of Penn State’s scoring, each having 10 points. Baldwin ended the afternoon with 20 points and seven assists.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Washington continued to hang in during the second half, trailing 52-49 at the U12 timeout. But Washington kept fighting and took a 53-52 lead with just over 11 minutes left.
Penn State responded with a 6-0 run to take a five-point lead, but Washington went on a 6-0 run to re-capture the advantage.
A Penn State was down four with just over seven minutes left after a 3-point play.
At the last media timeout, Washington led by two, and that lead stayed past the two-minute mark.
With 1:53 left, Washington’s DJ Davis hit two free throws to push the lead to four.
A 3-point play by Freddie Dilione V made it 72-71, but Davis hit a 3 with 58 seconds left.
Penn State plays Nebraska Wednesday at 6:30 inside the Bryce Jordan Center. The game will be on the Big Ten Network.
