Penn State scores first true Big Ten road win of Mike Rhoades era in double-digit triumph at Rutgers
Penn State has its first true Big Ten road victory of the Mike Rhoades era. And, it came by double digits.
With leading scorer Kanye Clary out due to injury, Ace Baldwin had 15 points and D’Marco Dunn 14 as the Nittany Lions skipped by Rutgers 61-46 at Jersey Mikes Arena in Piscataway on Wednesday.
“Everybody stepped up,” Rhoades told the Big Ten Network. “It was by committee. And how unselfish we were, that’s how we won the game today. Nobody panicked. You want to build a program where the next man steps up. We have a long way to go to get it to where I want it to be. But, today was a great sign.”
How Penn State-Rutgers played out
It was not a pretty win by any stretch of the imagination. But, it was a victory nonetheless for road side, which ended a two-game skid in the process and held Rutgers to its lowest point total of the season. Penn State (10-11, 4-6) had 16 more rebounds than the Scarlet Knights (10-10, 2-6) in the second half and a 40-32 overall edge on the glass.
Penn State led by a pair, 26-24, at halftime. It was aided throughout the contest by a plethora of Rutgers turnovers, 20 to be exact (PSU had 16), some that were forced and some that were not. While the Lions missed a chance to swell their lead before the break, they didn’t do so in the game’s final minutes.
With both teams struggling to score through the first 10 minutes of the second half, Penn State never fell behind. Rutgers did pull within 44-39 when Derek Simpson hit a jumper with 8:02 left, but Baldwin, who played all 40 minutes, quickly answered with one of his own the following possession. Three minutes later, a Jamichael Davis jumper pulled the home side within 48-41. But Zach Hicks answered with a three to put the Lions back up by 10. A stop and score made it 53-41 with 3:48 to go, and that was that.
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The Nittany Lions found themselves in an early but not insurmountable hole to start the game despite shooting 3 of 14 from the field, including an 0 for 7 mark from beyond the arc, to trail 14-7 10 minutes into the tilt in Piscataway. However, it went on a run on offense from there, and by the 6:29 mark of the first half, an Ace Baldwin steal and score capped an 11-3 Penn State run in nearly four minutes, giving it its first lead at 16-15. At that point, the Lions had forced 10 Scarlet Knight turnovers. Rhoades’ side used a 10-3 run from there to lead 26-18 with a minute to go in the half.
But Rutgers, which started the game on a 6-0 run, put together another one in the final minute of the half that, combined with a 3:47 scoreless drought for the visitors, allowed the home side to pull within 26-24 at the break. Penn State had 10 points off of 13 Rutgers turnovers at halftime. However, the Lions missed a chance to grow their lead before Rutgers elbowed its way back within a possession.
No Clary for the Nittany Lions
Penn State guard Kanye Clary was ruled out before the contest via the Big Ten’s availability report. He left the Minnesota game early last Saturday after a collision in the second half and did not return. He was called day-to-day by Rhoades back on Monday. But, he was not available on Wednesday. Without the Big Ten’s sixth-leading scorer, D’Marco Dunn slotted into the starting lineup. He finished with 14 points on a 6 of 10 night from the field that included two three pointers. He also had seven rebounds.
Up next
Penn State returns to the floor on Saturday at Indiana. Tip-off is set for Noon ET in Bloomington. FOX Sports One will televise the contest.
