Comeback Effort Falls Short as Nittany Lions Fall 80-76 at Rutgers

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The Penn State men’s basketball team trimmed a 17-point second-half deficit down to two in the final minutes, but fell just short as Rutgers handed Penn State an 80-76 loss Tuesday night at Jersey Mike’s Arena.

Zach Hicks led Penn State with 20 points behind six 3-pointers. Freddie Dilione V followed with 14 points, while Nick Kern Jr. tallied 10 points.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Penn State held an early 7-2 lead just 2:02 into the game on the back of five points fromZach Hicks. The Scarlet Knights used 11-unanswered points to pull ahead 13-7 before back-to-back Nick Kern Jr.layups snapped the Rutgers streak and put the score at 13-11 with 12:56 left in the first half.The score sat at 17-15 just over a minute before Rutgers used a 12-2 run over a four-minute stretch to pull ahead 29-17 at 7:21.The Nittany Lions were within seven following triples from Hicks and Ace Baldwin Jr.that put the score at 33-26 with 5:14 left, but the Scarlet Knights scored 15 of the final 22 points of the half to take a 48-33 lead into halftime.Rutgers scored the first basket of the second half before Freddie Dilione Vrattled off seven unanswered points in less than a minute to force a Rutgers timeout as Penn State quickly trimmed a 17-point deficit down to 10 at 50-40 at 18:35.The Scarlet Knights were back up 15 at 59-44, but Hicks answered with five-straight points and D’Marco Dunnfollowed with a triple to comprise an 8-0 run and pull the Nittany Lions within seven at 59-52 with 13:16 to play.A 9-4 stretch by Rutgers put them back up by 15 at the 14:33 mark of the second half, but Penn State caught fire, stringing together eight-straight points in a 54-second span to cut the Scarlet Knight lead down to seven points.Back-and-forth scoring through the seven-minute mark kept the margin hovering around ten points. Dilione V added another five points to his total during the stretch.A triple by Hicks and a Johnson layup cut the lead down to six points, the slimmest margin since the 10:52 mark of the first half.Following a Rutgers basket, Penn State got two free throws and the sixth three of the ballgame from Hicks to trim the Scarlet Knight advantage to just three points with 3:27 still on the clock.Penn State played tough defense, but could not convert a field goal in the final two minutes, falling to Rutgers 80-76.

GAME NOTES

Penn State won the turnover battle against the Scarlet Knights, committing just six turnovers compared to Rutgers’ 14.Zach Hicksconnected on a Big Ten career high-tying six threes against the Scarlet Knights. It is the third time this season he has posted five-plus threes in a game. Hicks finished with 20 points in the game, also tying his career high in Big Ten games. The senior added six boards, three assists, and a pair of steals in a stellar effort.Freddie Dilione Vtallied 14 points against the Scarlet Knights, his third-straight double-figure scoring effort. The redshirt sophomore scored all 14 in the second half. He added three assists, a rebound, and a steal to his final line.Nick Kern Jr.posted ten points and seven rebounds as the third Nittany Lion in double figures against Rutgers.

UP NEXT

Penn State returns home to continue non-conference play Saturday when the Nittany Lions host Coppin State at 12:30 p.m. inside the Bryce Jordan Center.

The 2024-25 Penn State men’s basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.