Coming off its biggest win of the season, a road victory over tournament hopeful Iowa, Penn State returned to the Bryce Jordan Center on Wednesday night for its final home game of the season.
The team honored its solo senior, Josh Reed, before tipoff, which was the only thing for Nittany Lion fans to cheer for in a 94-62 loss to the Buckeyes.
How it happened
Kayden Mingo was an unexpected scratch, leaving Penn State without its No. 2 scorer and assist leader heading into the contest. It took two minutes and 21 seconds of game time for Penn State to get on the board, at which point it was already trailing 7-2.
Ivan Jurić, who was responsible for the Nittany Lions’ opening bucket, added a three-pointer and a pair of free throws, giving him seven of the team’s first eight points as it took the lead.
Sloppy play ensued, including shot-clock violations on both teams, as the Buckeyes crawled ahead 12-9 by the under-12 timeout.
Penn State went on a drought out of the break, finding every possible way not to score, including turnovers, missed shots, stepping out of bounds and an offensive foul as the Buckeyes extended their lead to 23-9.
Down 28-11, head coach Mike Rhoades called a timeout, looking to combat a 2-for-16 start from the floor. It didn’t help, as Ohio State tacked on five more points and the Nittany Lions missed two more shots before the next media timeout.
Led by five points from Freddie Dilione V, Penn State outscored the Buckeyes 9-8 in the final 2:18 to save a shred of dignity before heading into halftime down 45-22.
“We really struggled offensively in the first half with a lack of finishing at the rim and not getting clean shots,” Rhoades said after the game. “We had the lead about five minutes in and then it all snowballed from there, just disappointed.”
Out of the break, the Buckeyes knocked down their first five shots, including four from beyond the arc, to take a commanding 65-33 advantage led by 20 points from John Mobley Jr.
“Number one is maturity,” Rhoades said. “The biggest thing I told our guys is adversity in the game. Some guys are better than others. When you have personal adversity or team adversity, you got to respond the right way.”
Though Penn State found a rhythm offensively, it couldn’t get a stop on the other end of the floor and fell behind 77-45 at the under-eight timeout as fans trickled to the exits. Mobley continued his dominant night, advancing to 8-for-9 from deep with 28 total points before the final media timeout.
With the game settled, the Buckeyes slowed the pace and used up the full shot clock on the final possessions, often still scoring, sealing a 94-62 win.
“Yeah, I’m gonna coach my butt off,” Rhoades said. “Go as hard as I can. Wake up tomorrow, work hard, work harder than I ever have. Just keep going, keep coaching.”
Team leaders
Points: Ivan Jurić, Freddie Dilione V, 15
Assists: Dom Stewart, 4
Rebounds: Mason Blackwood, 3
Up next: Penn State closes out the regular season at Rutgers, looking to pick up one last win at noon Sunday before the conference tournament
