Riding a three-game losing streak, all by single-digits against ranked Big Ten opponents, Penn State welcomed UCLA to the Bryce Jordan Center for an 8:30 p.m. tipoff on Wednesday.
The Nittany Lions were again without Kayden Mingo (broken nose) and Tibor Mirtič (knee) and lost Freddie Dilione V to injury in the first half.
A poor shooting performance and continued struggles in rebounding added insult to injury, as Penn State dropped a winnable conference game, 71-60.
With the loss, the Nittany Lions fell to 9-8 on the season and 0-6 in Big Ten play.
How it happened
Ivan Jurić kicked things off with a violent breakaway slam to draw first blood and added another layup before the first media timeout to guide Penn State to an early 6-2 advantage.
UCLA got its first four points from the foul line, followed by a three-pointer to take the lead. Though the Bruins weren’t shooting at a high clip, they rebounded well offensively and took a 13-10 lead with six second-chance points.
“It was a tough game. I mean, I think it came down to the second chance points we gave up. We battled. We were in striking distance, a few times,” head coach Mike Rhoades said after the game. “Some of that’s fatigue, some young guys out there, but you got to find a way to scrap out some defensive rebounds and give yourself a chance.”
Eli Rice provided five unanswered points to retake the lead, including the team’s first three-pointer on seven attempts, but more free throws tilted the game back in the Bruins’ favor.
While neither team was knocking down shots consistently, Penn State’s biggest advantage came from forcing turnovers, with eight in the first 14 minutes.
The Nittany Lions’ injury bug flared up again when leading scorer Freddie Dilione V went down with a sprained ankle and had to be helped off the court with under five minutes remaining in the half. Things unraveled quickly, as Penn State turned the ball over on three consecutive possessions while UCLA mounted a 12-0 run to take a 29-21 lead.
“I think we make some mental mistakes,” Rhoades said. “Some of it is experience. Some of it is we’re moving some guys around, extra minutes and playing different positions, but you still gotta find a way, no excuse.”
Melih Tunca held for the last shot of the first half and airballed, but he drew a questionable foul call and drained a pair from the line headed into the break.
“I thought as the game went on, (Tunca) started figuring it out, picking spots,” Rhoades said. “He’s got to shoot the ball when he catches it. He’s a good shooter, but he thought because he was playing point he had to make plays. And there’s a couple times where he’s just reversed to him or was inside out.”
After making just one three-pointer in the opening frame, Tunca and Rice each hit one within the opening three minutes of the second half, with Rice becoming the first Nittany Lion to reach double digits.
Reed scored eight of the team’s first 14 points in the half to reach double digits himself, helping narrow the margin. Penn State finally retook the lead on another triple from Dom Stewart, sparking the loudest crowd pop of the night, but UCLA responded with its own three-pointer.
The Nittany Lions’ struggles off the glass continued, allowing three offensive rebounds on one possession, eventually leading to a bucket to extend the Bruins’ lead to 52-49. UCLA’s Trent Perry and Tyler Bilodeau hit back-to-back threes to pull further away before the under-eight timeout.
Bilodeau went on a tear, with four three-point plays in a seven-minute span (three field goals plus an and-one), pushing the Bruins to a 58-52 edge.
“They made their threes and we didn’t,” Rhoades said. “That was a huge difference.”
Despite the narrow deficit, Penn State never seemed capable of generating enough offense to pose a threat, missing shots with opportunities to close the gap.
UCLA slowed the tempo considerably for the final five minutes, bleeding out the clock on an all-around poor display of basketball with a 71-60 final.
“Close doesn’t get you the win. It doesn’t mean anything. There’s still a zero in the win column,” Rice said after the game. “It’s frustrating for sure.”
Team leaders:
Points: Dom Stewart, 16
Assists: Freddie Dilione V, Melih Tunca, Dom Stewart, 3
Rebounds: Ivan Jurić, 9
Up next: Penn State travels to take on Maryland at noon on Sunday at the XFINITY Center.
