UNIVERSITY PARK — It’s not likely that the Penn State men’s basketball team will average over 105 points per game for the rest of the 2024 season, but that’s where the Nittany Lions are right now.
Okay, it is only two games, but their 108-66 win over Binghamton and their 103-54 win over UMBC are nonetheless very impressive.
Against Binghamton at home on Monday, Nov. 4, the Lions put five players in double figures — led by Zach Hicks’ 22 — as they raced out to a 54-23 lead by halftime and then closed things out with another 54 in the second half. Along with Hicks, Yanic Konan Niederhauser scored 16, Ace Baldwin had 15, D’Marco Dunn had 12, Freddie Dilone had 10, and Dominick Stewart had 10.
In all, the Lions shot just over 50% from the field (35-for-69), made 13, 3-pointers and went 25-32 from the line.
Niederhauser, the 7-foot Northern Illinois transfer from Switzerland, had a solid Penn State debut with seven rebounds, four for seven from the field and eight of 12 from the foul line.
Hicks made four threes, cleared seven rebounds and handed out four assists while Baldwin also made four threes, got three steals and gave out four assists.
The Lions entire roster got playing time with 10 of them in the scoring column.
Four days later, the Lions entertained the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and for the first time in program history put up over 100 points two games in a row.
This one ended with a 103-54 win as the Lions again put five players in double figures led by Niederhauser’s 18 points. D’Marco Dunn threw in 16, Zach Hicks had 12, freshman Jahvin Carter had 12 and Nick Kern had 10.
Ace Baldwin had eight assists, and Niederhuser added nine rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
The Lions and Retrievers were competitive early with Penn State taking a 43-28 halftime lead, but Penn State got rolling in the second half.
The Lions got hot and outscored UMBC 27-8 as the second half began and jumped out to a 70-36 lead.
From there, the entire roster got playing time with 11 Lions scoring and the bench eventually contributing 51 points.
Penn State is now 2-0 for the third straight year, and the Lions are now 5-0 against UMBC.
“It’s not about the number,” Penn State head coach Mike Rhoades said about scoring 100 points. “Everybody loves the number, but it’s about seeing the ball go in. But the ball is going in the right way. We’re sharing 21 assists today on 37 baskets, we got steals instead of guys being selfish and going to the rim. They’re passing looking for their teammates and we got transition threes where guys gave the ball up. We threw it into the post and it came out. So when the ball is hot and everybody is getting a piece of it, that creates confidence. When guys share the ball and go from good shots to great shots, the rim gets bigger. There is a joy to this team the way they play.”
