This was a game Penn State likely needed to win. It took 13 lead changes and four ties, but the Nittany Lions overcame it all against Rutgers.
Ace Baldwin scored 22 points, dished out six assists and tied a season-high with five steals to snap a four-game losing streak in an 80-72 win over the Scarlet Knights on Monday night at the Bryce Jordan Center.
“Today taught us that we have it in us,” head coach Mike Rhoades said postgame. “Doesn’t have to be pretty. We have it in us. We have good enough players. We’re thin. We need our bench to help us more, but I’m not making excuses. Forty-minute game. Find a way. We found a way today. Let’s see if we can do that again.”
It all, more or less, came down to a technical foul called on Rutgers forward Ace Bailey, who scored 30 points on a 13-of-15 shooting. Bailey converted a emphatic dunk then turned around and shouldered Baldwin to the floor. Baldwin was then awarded two free throws with a three-point lead and 21 second remaining. He made one, and the Nittany Lions retained the ball and won.
“After Bailey got that dunk, they definitely had the momentum,” Baldwin said. “And that tech just changed the whole game.”
Yanic Konan Niederhauser also scored 18 points, Nick Kern Jr. contributed 16 points and six rebounds and Freddie Dilione V tallied 12 points on a perfect 4-for-4 from beyond the arc. They joined Baldwin in leading the way for a team that scored 17 points off of 17 forced turnovers.
The most difficult stretch of the season is now behind Rhoades’ program. Penn State faced three top-15 teams consecutively over the course of a week. A loss to Indiana at The Palestra preceded that stretch and the win over the Scarlet Knights concluded what had been a winless 15 days.
“I have to be the best example for our guys,” Rhoades said. “I’m not pouting. I hate losing. I hate it. It disgusts me. It sucks. We all know that when it happens multiple times in a row, it crushes you. But I got a lot of fight, and I got to show these guys that fight, and there’s no excuses.”
INJURIES
Penn State forward Puff Johnson, who has started in 17 games this season, was ruled out prior to tipoff. His right wrist was wrapped in a brace. Rhoades said on Friday that Johnson would be out for “a while” after exiting in the first half of the Nittany Lions’ 90-85 loss at Michigan State on Wednesday.
