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Penn State went to Piscataway looking to snap a two-game losing streak.
Going into this game, Penn State had nine wins, only one of which came outside of Bryce Jordan. The Nittany Lions, also coming off a two-game losing streak, looked to steal one of the few stealable games away from home. Early into this game, it looked like that wasn’t going to come to pass.
The Nittany Lions quickly found themselves in a hole, scoring a measly five points in nearly 10 minutes of play, resembling the performance they showed in their last road game against Ohio State. Rutgers, however, is not the Buckeyes this season, and they couldn’t take advantage of the Lions’ offensive struggle to start the game.
Penn State, who was playing without Kanye Clary due to Clary’s injury against Minnesota, finally started making some shots, and slowly closed the deficit, which was seven at one point in the half, to turn the tables around and take their own eight-point lead. Rutgers would make some plays down the stretch and close the game to go down two at the half.
The Lions, to their credit, kept up the performance in the second half, one that had seen 13 turnovers in the first. Penn State forced another seven in the second half for good measure, and Rutgers could never replicate the performance of the first 10 minutes of the contest. Once the Lions took the lead, they kept it for good. While the Scarlet Knights would fight to close the gap, they never came as close as the two-point deficit they had going into the half. It only got worse and worse for the home team, and, when it was all said and done, the Lions walked out of Jersey Mike’s Arena with a 15-point victory, and the first true road win of the Mike Rhoades era.
Players of the Game
Ace Baldwin, Jr. - 15 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 block, 5 steals
Without Clary on the court, Baldwin had a vintage VCU game against Rutgers, stuffing the stat sheet. He had five of the Nittany Lions’ 13 steals on the night.
D’Marco Dunn - 14 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 3 steals
Dunn, getting the start in place of injured Kanye Clary, made the most of his opportunity. He was the second leading scorer, and the second in steals for the game.
Random Observations
feelsgoodman - The Nittany Lions squandered two opportunities at home in recent weeks, so they needed to start stealing some on the road in order to keep pace. They’ll get another opportunity here soon.
Balance - Penn State did not rely on any one player to single-handedly make up Clary’s absence, and, instead, employed a platoon of bench players. 10 of the Nittany Lions’ 12 scholarship players saw minutes in this game.
Monkey - Now that the road monkey is off the team’s back, maybe they’ll start to perform better against these upcoming teams.
Looking Ahead
The Nittany Lions stay on the road as they take on Indiana on Saturday. Game tips off at noon on FS1.
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By: misdreavus79
Title: Penn State 61, Rutgers 46: Lions Win On The Road. Finally
Sourced From: www.blackshoediaries.com/2024/1/31/24057692/penn-state-basketball-61-rutgers-46-recap-nittany-lions-win-on-the-road-against-scarlet-knights-psu
Published Date: Thu, 01 Feb 2024 04:01:15 +0000
