Tag: Nick Kern Jr.

Penn State stuns No. 12 Illinois with Zach Hicks free throws in final seconds

Penn State fans storm the court of Rec Hall after a wild comeback victory over No. 12 Illinois!

Penn State was looking to create a little magic in their old stomping grounds of Rec Hall on Wednesday night, and Zach Hicks and Nick Kern Jr. rose to the occasion. Kern Jr. scored a career-best 22 points but it was three free throws by Hicks in the final seconds that delivered a memorable and much-needed victory for Penn State against No. 12 Illinois. Hicks drained all three free throws after being fouled to give Penn State a wild 90-98 victory over the Illini.

Penn State held a lead for most of the first half but trailed Illinois by seven at halftime and trailed by seven with a little over a minute to play in the game before going on a run in the final minute.

After draining the go-ahead free throw, Penn State just needed one last defensive stop, and they got it. And with that, a court storming in Rec Hall for the whiteout crowd.

Illinois got a big game from Terrence Shannon Jr. with a 35-point effort, but the Illini struggled to keep up the pace with Penn State from the start and could not hold off the pressure in the closing moments.

The win helps Penn State move out of the bottom four of the Big Ten standings, at least for now. Penn State moved up two spots in the Big Ten standings from no. 11 to no. 9 in the Big Ten tournament picture.

Next up for the Nittany Lions will be a home game against Indiana on Saturday. Penn State upset the Hoosiers in the first meeting of the regular season in Bloomington two weeks ago.

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Penn State basketball drops home game to Michigan State (photos)

Penn State was unable to come from behind against Michigan State at home on Wednesday evening.

Things did not go according to plan for Penn State men’s basketball on Wednesday evening. In a season where Penn State has been far more successful at home, the Nittany Lions dug a big hole in the first half against Michigan State and was unable to pull off a comeback in an 80-72 loss in the Bryce Jordan Center.

Michigan State’s Malik Hall scored a career-high 29 points and Penn State had a rough night shooting the ball. Each time Penn State seemed to have a run in them in the second half, Michigan State had an answer to pull away. [autotag]Ace Baldwin Jr.[/autotag] and [autotag]Zach Hicks[/autotag] each scored 15 points for the Nittany Lions and [autotag]Nick Kern Jr.[/autotag] added 14 points.

Here are some of the best photos from the game.

Penn State basketball’s winning streak snapped with tough loss at Northwestern

Nick Kern Jr. and Ace Baldwin Jr. combined for 35 points but it wasn’t enough to upset Northwestern.

Penn State men’s basketball was hoping to keep the good vibes going with a fourth straight win in Big Ten play on Sunday afternoon, but things did not go their way on the road at Northwestern. The 68-63 loss in Evanston dropped Penn State back to .500 with a record of 12-12 and to 6-7 in Big Ten play this season.

Northwestern attacked with a well-balanced scoring attack with five starters scoring in double figures including Boo Buie’s 15 points. Buie also added five rebounds and six assists for the Wildcats.

[autotag]Nick Kern Jr.[/autotag] led Penn State with 18 points and [autotag]Ace Baldwin Jr.[/autotag] added 17 points. [autotag]D’Marco Dunn[/autotag] got another start in place of [autotag]Kanye Clary[/autotag], who once again saw some playing time off the bench while getting back to full strength from an injury. Clary was held scoreless off the bench in 14 minutes and Dunn scored just four points.

Penn State will return home for their next game against Michigan State. The Nittany Lions host the Spartans in the Bryce Jordan Center on Wednesday, Feb. 14 at 6:30 p.m. ET.

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Best photos from Penn State basketball’s major win at Indiana

Here are the best photos from Penn State’s first men’s basketball win at Indiana since 2014!

Wins for Penn State basketball come few and far between when playing on the road against the Indiana Hoosiers. But on Saturday, Penn State’s decade-long drought came to an end in Bloomington with a stunning second-half performance leading to an 85-71 victory. It was just the second road win of the season for Penn State, and both came in the same week!

Here are some of the best photos from Penn State basketball’s major road win at Indiana on Saturday afternoon.

Kanye Clary is day-to-day as Penn State prepares for road trip to Rutgers

Penn State’s leading scorer is day-to-day ahead of road game at Rutgers

As if Penn State has not had enough struggles on the road this season, they may have to play a Big Ten road game on Wednesday night without its leading scorer. [autotag]Kanye Clary[/autotag], who was injured in Penn State’s weekend loss to Minnesota, is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury according to Penn State men’s basketball head coach [autotag]Mike Rhoades[/autotag].

Rhoades updated the status of Clary during his regularly scheduled press conference on Monday. In addition to an update on the status of Clary, Rhoades also announced [autotag]Nick Kern Jr.[/autotag] should be available for Penn State’s road game at Rutgers on Wednesday evening.

“Kanye is day-to-day, we’ll leave it at that,” Rhoades said. “And Nick will be available, so we’ll go from there.”

Both players were banged up in Saturday evening’s home game against Minnesota, leaving their status for Wednesday night’s road game in some doubt. Judging by his comments on Monday, Rhoades is far more confident in having Kern available than Clary. If Clary is unable to be on the court, that will likely mean D’Marco Dunn will get a chance to get in the starting lineup for the Nittany Lions.

Clary leads Penn State with an average of 18.1 points per game. Dunn has appeared in all 20 games played by Penn State this season, and he is averaging 6.7 ppg in 16.4 minutes per game.

Kern has been averaging 23.6 minutes per game and 8.1 ppg with 4.3 rebounds per game. Kern is also averaging 1.1 steals per game, which is the second-highest average behind only Ace Baldwin Jr. and his 2.8 steals per game.

Penn State is still searching for its first road win this season when they travel to New Jersey to face the Scarlet Knights. Penn State is 0-4 on the road in Big Ten play and just 1-8 in games played away from the Bryce Jordan Center. Penn State’s only win outside of Happy Valley came against Michigan in Philadelphia earlier this month. The game is classified as a home game, but that has been the only win for the Nittany Lions outside of central PA this season.

Rutgers is 10-9 this season but is just 2-6 in Big Ten play (Penn State is 3-6 in conference play).

Penn State and Rutgers are scheduled to tipoff at 8:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Jan. 31 on Big Ten Network from Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway, NJ.

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Best photos from Penn State’s upset over no. 8 Wisconsin

Re-live Penn State basketball’s upset of Wisconsin with the best photos from the game.

Penn State’s roller-coaster season continued to experience a new high on Tuesday night. The Nittany Lions handed no. 8 Wisconsin their first loss of the Big Ten season with an 87-83 victory over the Badgers in the Bryce Jordan Center.

Here are some of the best photos from the big win for the Nittany Lions. Kanye Clary led all players in the game with 27 points and Ace Baldwin Jr. added a 20-point effort in the home victory. Baldwin was locked in from beyond the three-point line as he connected on four of his five attempts from three. Penn State led Wisconsin by four points at halftime and stayed even with the BAdgers in a back-and-forth second half.

Penn State heads back on the road, which has not been kind to the Nittany Lions this season, when they face Ohio State on Saturday in Columbus. Penn State took the first game in the regular season against the Buckeyes with a home win in December during the early portion of the Big Ten schedule.

Here are some of the best photos from Penn State’s big night against Wisconsin.

Penn State basketball smoked by Michigan State

Penn State was scorched by Michigan State on Thursday night. Here are the best photos from a forgettable night.

Penn State picked a bad night to go up against a Michigan State basketball squad that seemed to do no wrong on Thursday night. Penn State dropped its first Big Ten game of 2024 on the road to the Spartans which was dominated from start to finish by the home team. Penn State lost to Michigan State by a score of 92-61 for what is easily the worst loss so far in the Mike Rhoades era as far as point differential goes.

Kanye Clary led the Nittany Lions with 21 points, but Michigan State had runs all night long that buried Penn State on the scoreboard. Any time Penn State established any sort of brief momentum, the Spartans had an answer. Michigan State led 51-26 at halftime and put things on cruise control in the second half.

The loss drops Penn State back to .500 with a record of 7-7. Penn State is now 1-2 in Big Ten play. Next up for the Nittany Lions is a game against Michigan in The Palestra in Philadelphia.

Here are the best photos from Penn State’s tough night in East Lansing.

Best photos from Penn State basketball’s upset of Buckeyes

Check out the best photos from Penn State basketball’s thrilling come-from-behind victory over Ohio State.

After coming up on the wrong end of the scoreboard in their previous five games, Penn State basketball had a memorable Saturday afternoon with a come-from-behind victory over Ohio State. The Buckeyes had come into the game with just one loss but were left shaking their heads after letting Penn State come back from a double-digit halftime deficit for the win.

Ace Baldwin Jr. gave Penn State the lead for good after clawing all the way back with a late three-point shot in the final 30 seconds of the game. Penn State’s defense and clutch free throw shooting helped keep the Nittany Lions on top as Ohio State battled the rest of the way for one final lead change that never came their way.

Here are some of the best photos from Penn State’s big win in Big Ten play against the Buckeyes.

Penn State basketball drops Big Ten opener in overtime at Maryland

Kanye Clary scored 25 points in an overtime loss at Maryland in Penn State’s Big Ten opener. Here are the best photos.

Penn State couldn’t quite come out of its Big Ten opener on the winning side of the final score on Wednesday night. The Nittany Lions ran out of steam in an overtime loss at Maryland and returned home with a 81-75 loss to fall one game under .500 this season. A game full of lead changes in the second half saw [autotag]Ace Baldwin Jr.[/autotag] help to send the game to overtime with some late free throws, but Maryland went on a 10-4 run in overtime for the win.

[autotag]Kanye Clary[/autotag] led the Nittany Lions with 25 points and Baldwin was 9-for-9 on free throw attempts. [autotag]Nick Kern Jr.[/autotag] added 9 points and 8 rebounds with 4 assists in the loss.

Penn State held the edge in the first half and led by a 20-9 margin early on before Maryland went on a run to cut into the lead and trim the Penn State lead to two at halftime. It was a tough first test in Big Ten play for this team led by Mike Rhoades, and it was the fifth consecutive loss for the program.

Penn State will look to rebound and snap this losing skid with their next game, which will also be in Big Ten play. Penn State hosts Ohio State on Saturday, Dec. 9 for the Big Ten home opener.

Here are some of the best photos from Penn State’s hard-fought game at Maryland.

ESPN Events Invitational: Best photos from Penn State’s game vs. VCU

Penn State came up short against VCU in their final game in the ESPN Events Invitational. Here are the best photos from the VCU game.

Penn State’s Thanksgiving weekend did not offer too many things to be thankful for. Penn State went 0-3 in the ESPN Events Invitational this weekend after losing the 7th-place game on Sunday morning against VCU. VCU celebrated a win over their former head coach, [autotag]Mike Rhoades[/autotag], and former teammates [autotag]Ace Baldwin Jr.[/autotag] and [autotag]Nick Kern Jr.[/autotag] as the Nittany Lions were left looking to regroup back at home after a rough weekend.

Penn State lost to VCU by a final score of 86-74 in a game where leading scorer [autotag]Kanye Clary[/autotag] left early due to an injury. Baldwin scored a game-high 27 points against his former teammates from VCU, but VCU got a big game off the bench from guard Alphonzo Billups III who scored 23 points in 27 minutes on the court.

Here are some of the best photos from Penn State’s most recent setback against VCU from the ESPN Events Invitational.