Nittany Lions Drop Tough 90-85 Battle at #12 Michigan StateNittany Lions Drop Tough 90-85 Battle at #12 Michigan State
Malloreigh Yingling

Nittany Lions Drop Tough 90-85 Battle at #12 Michigan State

Nittany Lions shoot 65.2 percent from the field in valiant second-half comeback attempt

Box Score

EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Penn State men’s basketball team went toe to toe in a tough  road battle at #12 Michigan State, but came up just short of handing the Spartans their first Big Ten loss of the season Wednesday night as the Nittany Lions fell 90-85 inside the Breslin Center.

Ace Baldwin Jr. returned from injury to lead Penn State with 20 points and nine assists. D’Marco Dunn tallied a career-best 18 points, while Zach Hicks scored 14 and Yanic Konan Niederhauser had 13.

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • The Spartans got out to an early 11-4 lead four minutes into the game. Penn State used a second-chance dunk from Yanic Konan Niederhauser and a Puff Johnson triple to trim the Michigan State lead to two at 11-9 at the 15:09 mark.
  • MSU scored 12 of the next 16 points to take a double-digit lead at 23-13. A D’Marco Dunn triple at the 11:01 mark sparked a 7-2 Penn State response that pulled the Nittany Lions back within five at 25-20 midway through the first half.
  • The Spartans scored the next six points to reclaim a double-digit lead at 31-20 and force a Penn State timeout at the 8:17 mark. Another Dunn 3-pointer snapped the Spartan streak and was followed by an Ace Baldwin Jr. trey 30 seconds later as the Nittany Lions suddenly clawed back within five at 31-26.
  • MSU continued the half of runs with seven-straight points to go back up 11 at 40-29. Penn State was within eight at 1:25 following a Dunn jumper, but the Spartans took a 10-point edge, 46-36, into halftime.
  • A Dunn 3-pointer at the 17:13 mark capped an 8-0 Nittany Lion run to open the second half as Penn State suddenly worked itself within two points at 46-44.
  • Penn State stayed within two possessions over the next few minutes until Michigan State used a 6-2 stretch to pull ahead 64-55 at the under-12 media timeout.
  • Back-to-back Nick Kern Jr. layups sparked a 7-2 Nittany Lion run over the next three minutes to narrow the MSU advantage to four at 66-62 with 9:31 to play.
  • The Spartans threw the next punch, answering with six-straight to reclaim a double-digit edge at the under-8 media timeout.
  • Zach Hicks scored five-straight points in a 20-second stretch from 4:42-4:21 to trim MSU’s 10-point edge down to five at 76-71.
  • A Hicks 3-pointer had Penn State within three at 79-76 with 3:11 to play. Michigan State scored the next five to go back up eight before Hicks drilled another triple that had the score at 84-79 with 1:48 to play.
  • The Spartans went back up seven with 29 seconds to play before Hicks hit his fourth triple in a four-minute stretch to pull PSU within four at 87-83 with 22 seconds left. Michigan State closed the game from the free throw line, however, as MSU escaped with the 90-85 win.

GAME NOTES

  • Penn State has now scored 80-plus points in 12 of its 16 games this season.
  • Michigan State has now won 10-straight games and remains undefeated in conference play.
  • Ace Baldwin Jr. returned from injury to tally game-high marks of 20 points and nine assists, marking his fourth 20-plus point effort of the season.
  • D’Marco Dunn finished with a career-best 18 points behind a career-high four made 3-pointers. He tallied his fifth double-digit scoring effort of the season and first since Dec. 14 vs. Coppin State.

UP NEXT

  • The Nittany Lions return home to the Bryce Jordan Center to host Rutgers at 7 p.m. Monday night.

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