Dylan Harper recorded 24 points, 12 rebounds and five assists to guide Rutgers to a much-needed 80-76 victory over Penn State on Tuesday in Piscataway, N.J.
Fellow freshman Ace Bailey registered 15 points and a season-best 15 rebounds as the Scarlet Knights (6-4, 1-1 Big Ten) held on to snap a three-game losing streak.
Penn State (8-2, 1-1) was coming off a demolition of No. 8 Purdue, but the momentum didn’t carry over into this one. Zach Hicks (20 points) and Freddie Dilione V (14) were the top scorers for the Nittany Lions.
Trailing by 15 points with less than 15 minutes to play, Penn State began to charge back into the contest. Hicks scored five quick points to get the deficit down to 10 before D’Marco Dunn’s 3-pointer brought the Nittany Lions within 59-52.
Lathan Sommerville restored a double-digit cushion, and the margin hovered between eight and 11 points until Hicks made a 3-pointer to bring Penn State within eight and then another with 3 1/2 minutes left to trim the margin to 76-73.
Bailey’s putback with 50 seconds remaining gave the Scarlet Knights a four-point cushion. Penn State missed two 3-point attempts down the stretch, including a potential tying shot by Baldwin, as Rutgers held on.
The Scarlet Knights authored a strong performance in the first half, particularly from long distance. The hosts knocked down 8 of 18 3-point attempts — including three treys from Harper and two apiece from PJ Hayes IV and Tyson Acuff — en route to a 48-33 lead at intermission.
Rutgers led 17-15 near the midpoint of the first half before Hayes knocked down a 3-pointer to ignite a 12-2 run. He made another from beyond the arc shortly thereafter before Sommerville capped the surge with a jumper, pushing the lead to 29-17.
Hicks connected on a 3-pointer with 23 seconds left in the half to get the visitors within 45-33, but that left enough time for Jeremiah Williams to drain a trey at the buzzer, creating a 15-point cushion at the break.
–Field Level Media
