On a blustery Super Bowl Sunday in State College, Penn State took to the court to face off against cross-country conference foe USC at noon.
The depleted Nittany Lions pushed the Trojans to the brink, but a last-second shot from Alijah Arenas gave the visitors a narrow 77-75 win inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
“We had stretches of playing winning basketball today,” head coach Mike Rhoades said after the game. “We didn’t play enough of it.”
How it happened
Tipoff was delayed by two minutes as a team employee replaced the net on one of the baskets, and USC broke it in with the first bucket of the game on a jumper from Jacob Cofie to take a 2-0 lead.
Ivan Jurić returned to the starting lineup for Penn State, adding some size against a tall USC squad, though Eli Rice, Tibor Mirtič and Saša Ciani remained out. Seeing more minutes with the lack of forward depth, Josh Reed got Penn State on the board and had four of the team’s first six points in the early going,
“It was kind of hard to be out there at first, trying to catch my breath, pain in my lungs … as the game went on, I fought through it,” Jurić said.
Arenas’ seven points powered the Trojans back into an 11-10 lead while the Nittany Lions went on a cold streak from the field.
USC, already missing its two leading scorers in Rodney Rice and Chad Baker-Mazara, had a scare when Cofie went down after a mid-air collision with Jurić, resulting in a substitution out of the game. After being checked out, he returned shortly.
After falling behind 14-10, the Nittany Lions’ big men got going from beyond the arc, with Jurić and Justin Houser knocking down triples to retake the lead in a back-and-forth first half.
“(Houser) is slowly but surely figuring it out … He has a hunger to get better,” Rhoades said. “He’s gotta live in the weight room this season, gotta get big and strong.”
Freddie Dilione V hit for the cycle with a layup, mid-range jumper and 3-pointer in a three-minute span, but the Trojans responded on each occasion to keep the score close. Penn State struggled with turnovers, allowing several easy breakaway layups to a USC squad that was struggling to shoot when contested.
“I just thought we had way too many turnovers that led to them getting baskets we couldn’t defend,” Rhoades said.
With momentum mounting for the visitors, Kayden Mingo battled to the basket for a layup and Dilione hit a tough turn-around jumper to even the score, prompting Trojan head coach Eric Musselman to call a timeout.
Out of the break, the Nittany Lions extended the scoring streak to 10 points before Kam Woods sunk the final shot to make it 40-36 Penn State at halftime.
Penn State rode the wave of momentum into the second half, going on a 10-2 run and dragging USC into foul trouble. Jordan Marsh was hit with a technical foul and Ezra Ausar recorded an unnecessary personal foul after swatting at Jurić’s hands after a rebound. After a steal by Mingo, Dilione threw down a dunk to force an early timeout from Musselman trailing 50-38.
After converting a pair of free throws to stop the bleeding, Ausar was called for an offensive foul before Gabe Dynes was convicted on the other end, giving Jurić two free throws. Penn State reached the bonus less than six minutes into the second frame, but both Melih Tunca and Josh Reed proceeded to miss the first shot of one-and-ones to keep the lead modest.
The missed opportunities from the line proved costly, as USC pulled within 53-51 before Cofie turned the ball over and fouled Mingo, leading to a pair of made free throws. Right after, Woods responded with two layups plus an and-one for the 56-55 lead.
With its lead evaporated, the Nittany Lions pressed harder and picked up costly fouls, sending the Trojans to the bonus and falling behind 60-56 as part of a larger 18-3 run.
“They played good defense, but i think that was more so on us,” Reed said. “We made a lot of mistakes. They scored off the turnovers. If we kept our mistakes to a minimum, it would have been a different game.”
Jurić, who was out for an extended period after taking a hard foul, returned to the game and immediately changed the complexion, recording an and-one to spark some life, followed by buckets from Mingo and Reed to retake a 65-64 lead.
Arenas was clutch down the stretch, knocking down a pair of threes to propel USC ahead 72-68. Looking for an answer, Reed sank a deep ball from the top of the key as the clock ticked below one minute.
“Just trying to play confident and aggressive,” Reed said. “The coaches, my team have trust, they believe in me.”
A whistle on Dom Stewart allowed Arenas a pair of free throws to reach a team-high 21 points. Down by three, Stewart then drove for a layup with 20 seconds left, making it 74-73 Trojans.
Penn State had no choice but to play the foul game, and Arenas split his ensuing shots. Off the inbound pass, Dilione streaked the length of the court and laid it in to tie it 75-75, taking just five seconds off the clock.
However, Arenas once again put the team on his back, holding for the last shot before scoring a layup for the 77-75 win.
“We were switching everything, and someone didn’t switch,” Rhoades said.
Team leaders
Points: Freddie Dilione V, 23
Assists: Freddie Dilione, 4
Rebounds: Ivan Jurić, 8
Up next: Penn State embarks on its lone West Coast trip of the season, playing at Washington on Wednesday and at Oregon on Saturday.
