Penn State had a chance to positively follow up its convincing win over No. 11 Purdue in a tricky affair at Rutgers on Tuesday night, and came close. Ace Baldwin Jr. attempted 3-pointer to tie with four seconds remaining, but it banked off the rim, all but concluding a hard-fought, comeback bid in an 80-76 loss against the revamped Scarlet Knights,
Zach Hicks scored a team-high 20 points, Freddie Dilione V scored 14 and Nick Kern scored 10. They led the way for Penn State as Baldwin, the team’s leading-scorer, tallied just eight points on 3-for-14 shooting. Baldwin also earned four personal fouls in a physical contest that saw Rutgers attempt 25 free throws.
The Nittany Lions, who received 90 points and were the fifth team left out in Monday’s AP Top 25 poll, now move to 8-2 and will return to the Bryce Jordan Center on Saturday to face winless Coppin State.
Penn State showed grit after trailing at the half, but struggled to break away from a Rutgers team oozing with future NBA talent. Harper, a projected top-three draft pick, was outstanding. He scored a game-high 24 points and notched a double-double 12 rebounds. Harper made a trifecta of 3-point attempts in the first half, and also tallied two blocks and two steals.
The combination of Harper and Ace Bailey, another potential lottery pick, was too much for the Nittany Lions to handle. They dominated on the glass, bringing down 27 of the Scarlet Knights’ 46 rebounds, which heavily outmatched the Nittany Lions’ 32. Despite going 0-for-4 from 3-point range, Bailey also produced a double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds.
Penn State brought an aggressive approach on offense, hoping to test the Scarlet Knights in the paint. That strategy, however, was unsuccessful as the Nittany Lions were granted just five free-throw attempts, making four of them. This proved to be the most pivotal aspect of the loss, aside from rebounds, in a game Penn State sank more field goals and 3-pointers than Rutgers.
