Photos by Jeff Shomo

Courtesy of GoPSU Athletics

Five Nittany Lions in double figures as PSU powers past Quakers to close 2024 calendar year

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men’s basketball team roared to a dominant 86-66 victory over Penn to secure Peter & Ann Tombros Endowed Head Coach Mike Rhoades’ 400th career head coaching victory Sunday afternoon inside the Bryce Jordan Center.

The Nittany Lions wrap up non-conference play with a 10-1 record and are 11-2 overall on the season. It marks just the sixth time in Penn State’s 32-year history in the Big Ten that the Nittany Lions have finished non-conference play with one or fewer losses. Penn State out-scored the Quakers 52-35 in the second half en route to the 20-point win.

Ace Baldwin Jr. tallied his fifth double-double of the season with 23 points and 10 rebounds, while Yanic Konan Niederhauser secured a double-double of his own with 19 points and a career-best 15 rebounds. Nick Kern Jr. contributed 13 points, while Freddie Dilione V and Puff Johnson added 11 points apiece to round out the five Nittany Lions in double figures.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Nittany Lions commanded the opening tip, and Konan Niederhauser got the scoring started for the Blue & White with a layup and an alley-oop dunk to give Penn State an early 4-2 advantage through the first two minutes. Penn evened the score with a pair of free throw makes, but a heavily contested driving layup from Baldwin Jr. and a high-flying alley-oop connection from Johnson to Kern gave the Nittany Lions an 8-4 edge at the first media timeout.
• The Quakers took their first lead of the contest thanks to a 3-for-3 trip to the charity stripe followed by a left-corner triple to punctuate a 6-0 scoring run. Kern battled through contact with a right-handed dribble-drive to stymie the Penn momentum and deadlock the score at 10-all. Back-to-back baskets from Baldwin Jr. in the painted area pushed PSU ahead once more, 14-10 and marked a 6-0 Nittany Lion response.
• Stingy defense from the Blue & White kept the Nittany Lions in control around halfway through the opening frame, but a 7-1 scoring stretch from the Quakers saw the lead change hands once again to force a PSU timeout at the 8:48 mark, trailing 17-15.
• Konan Niederhauser found the bottom of the net off a feed from Dominick Stewart, but the Quakers responded with a corner 3-ball on the other end to preserve their advantage. Following a technical foul against Penn, Baldwin Jr. converted both free throw opportunities just before Konan Niederhauser booked consecutive 2-for-2 trips to the line to put Penn State back on top, 23-20 with less than six minutes to go in the first half.
• Penn and Penn State exchanged blows the next four trips down the floor, with the lead swinging back and forth between the pair of Commonwealth challengers. A pair of makes at the line from Baldwin Jr. saw the veteran Nittany Lion cross the double-digit scoring threshold and put the Blue & White back in front by a 28-27 tally with 3:45 to go in the first.
• Penn State rattled off a 7-0 scoring run followed by a 4-0 Quaker response, but Konan Niederhauser slammed home an alley-oop dunk on a pass from Johnson to guarantee a 34-31 Nittany Lion edge at the halftime intermission.
• Buckets rained down in abundance following the halftime break, with a paint jumper and 3-pointer from the Quakers bookending a 4-0 scoring run from the Nittany Lions that featured fastbreak layups from Dilione V and Baldwin Jr. A turnaround jumper followed by a pristine cut along the baseline from Dilione V warranted a personal 4-0 run and a 43-36 PSU edge at the first media break.
• Momentum remained in the PSU corner with a Kern-to-Konan Niederhauser alley-oop out of the short break, but the Quakers kept things close with a triple from the right corner the next trip down the floor. Konan Niederhauser kept the offense flowing with a second-chance score, and a perfect trip to the line from Baldwin Jr. made it a double-digit advantage for PSU, 49-39.
• The teams continued to trade baskets on either side of the media break, with the Nittany Lions maintaining a nine-point edge at 53-44 with 9:48 to play in the game. Johnson capitalized against an overly aggressive Quaker defender to book an old-fashioned 3-point play, and Baldwin Jr. sank a pair of free throws to guarantee PSU its largest lead of the game at 60-46 with eight minutes left. The stretch ultimately became a decisive 11-0 Penn State run thanks to PSU’s first 3-pointer of the afternoon from Johnson with 6:29 to go.
• PSU and Penn traded scores over the next seven possessions, but a 7-0 reply highlighted by a left corner 3-pointer from Baldwin Jr. led the Nittany Lions to an 81-56 advantage at the 3:02 mark. Despite a late scoring run from the Quakers, Penn State was able to close out Sunday afternoon’s matinee with a dominant 86-66 victory.

GAME NOTES

• Peter & Ann Tombros Endowed Head Coach Mike Rhoades earned his 400th career victory with the win. He now owns a career record of 400-208 (.658).
• The Nittany Lions wrap up non-conference play with a 10-1 record against out-of-conference foes. It marks the sixth time since Penn State joined the Big Ten 32 years ago that the Nittany Lions have finished non-conference play with one or fewer losses.
• Penn State is now a perfect 8-0 at home this season and has won 11-straight home games dating back to last season.
• The Nittany Lions are 11-2 this season, their best record through the first 13 games of the season since the 2019-20 season.
• Penn State has now scored 80 or more points in 10 of its 13 games this season.
• The Nittany Lions came away with a 41-29 win in the rebounding competition, outrebounding the opposition for the ninth time this season while improving to 9-0 when doing so.
• Ace Baldwin Jr. tallied his fifth double-double of the season and sixth double-digit assist game of the year. It marked his third 20-plus point game of the year. 
• Yanic Konan Niederhauser notched his second double-double of the season, finishing with 19 points and a career-best 15 rebounds. The 15 rebounds bested his previous career high.