Heading into Penn State’s matchup against Rutgers, they knew they were down a man with [autotag]Kanye Clary[/autotag] not making the trip due to an injury he suffered against Minnesota in their last game.
His absence in the second half against the Golden Gophers was a major reason why they blew big halftime lead.
Traveling to face Rutgers is a hard task, even with one of their best players.
The Nittany Lions quickly got into a 6-0 hole to start the game after missing four shots in a row. From the start this had all the telltale signs that this was going to be a slugfest.
10 minutes into the game Rutgers had a 14-7 lead.
But seven was the most points they ever led by throughout the rest of the contest.
Penn State took their first lead with six-and-a-half minutes left in the half after [autotag]Ace Baldwin[/autotag] stole the ball and laid it in. The Nittany Lions didn’t trail the rest of the way once that shot went through the net.
What won them the game was their defense.
This has been a major issue for Penn State throughout the season, something that is the antithesis of [autotag]Mike Rhoades[/autotag] coached teams.
However, they forced 20 turnovers, had 13 steals, held Rutgers to 34% shooting from the field and 1-17 from three-point range. They also held the Scarlet Knights without a field goal for a roughly 16 minutes of game time.
The Nittany Lions extended their two point halftime lead and really dominated the second half to win 61-46.
Without his backcourt mate Clary, Baldwin was tremendous, finishing with 15 points on 5-11 shooting while adding seven assists, five rebounds and five steals.
After getting pulled early in the game for lack of intensity, [autotag]Qudus Wahab[/autotag] also put together a great game with nine points, 11 big rebounds and two blocks.
Stepping in for Clary, [autotag]D’Marco Dunn[/autotag] showcased what he can do, hitting two threes on 50% shooting from that range to help him get to 14 points while pulling down seven rebounds.
Winning on the road is difficult in Big Ten play and Penn State was able to walk out of this physical, gritty contest with a victory.
Hopefully this builds some confidence for their second consecutive road game this Saturday against Indiana.