Nittany Lions lose big time at Illinois

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Penn State was up 11-5 early, then proceded to go cold the rest of the night as the Illinois Fighting Illini defeated the Nittany Lions, 91-52, in a Big Ten matchup in men’s college basketball action.

Illinois, ranked 13th in the national poll, played without leading scorer Kasparas Jakucionis, who was out with an arm injury.

Tre White helped the Fighting Illini, up 45-21 at halftime, with 20 points in place of Jakucionis in the starting lineup. Illinois also got 20 more points from Morez Johnson. Ben Humrichous led all scores with 21 points.

Penn State, which fell to 12-4, got 13 points from Nick Kern and 11 points from Zach Hicks. Ace Baldwin Jr. was held scoreless in the game.

Penn State welcomes Oregon to the Jordan Center on Sunday for a 4 p.m. tipoff. The Ducks lost to Illinois last weekend by 30-plus points.

Illinois will play host to USC on Saturday afternoon. Tipoff is set for noon.

PENN ST. (12-4): Hicks 3-5 4-4 11, Konan Niederhauser 3-10 0-0 6, Baldwin 0-6 0-0 0, Dilione 3-13 0-0 6, Kern 5-11 3-6 13, Carter 3-9 0-0 7, Dunn 1-3 0-0 2, Stewart 1-4 3-3 5, Goodman 1-3 0-1 2, Nzeh 0-0 0-0 0, Sedora 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-65 10-14 52.

ILLINOIS (12-3): Humrichous 8-15 0-0 21, Riley 2-11 2-2 7, Ivisic 2-6 0-0 4, Boswell 2-8 0-0 5, White 7-12 5-5 20, Gibbs-Lawhorn 2-9 4-4 9, M.Johnson 9-11 2-5 20, Davis 1-3 0-0 3, Booth 1-2 0-0 2, Kutcher 0-0 0-0 0, Redd 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 34-77 13-16 91.

Halftime–Illinois 45-21. 3-Point Goals–Penn St. 2-12 (Carter 1-2, Hicks 1-2, Stewart 0-1, Dilione 0-2, Kern 0-2, Konan Niederhauser 0-3), Illinois 10-31 (Humrichous 5-9, Davis 1-2, White 1-2, Boswell 1-3, Riley 1-5, Gibbs-Lawhorn 1-7, Booth 0-1, Ivisic 0-2). Rebounds–Penn St. 31 (Hicks 7), Illinois 53 (M.Johnson 11). Assists–Penn St. 6 (Baldwin, Kern 2), Illinois 19 (Riley, Boswell 6). Total Fouls–Penn St. 15, Illinois 14.

Women: Oregon at Penn State

Tipoff: 5 p.m., Bryce Jordan Center, University Park

Records: Oregon (11-4, 2-2 in Big Ten); Penn State (9-6, 0-4 in Big Ten)

TV: Big Ten+

Internet: Penn State Sports Network on Penn State app

Notable: Penn State has never played Oregon in women’s basketball, the only Big Ten team PSU has not played. … This game was moved an hour earlier to accommodate for the PSU football team playing in the college football semifinals at 7:30 p.m. … Gracie Merkle leads Penn State by averaging 17.6 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. … The Lady Lions have lost four games in a row.

Mirror prediction: Oregon 73, Penn State 62

Mirror prediction record: 14-1

— Michael Boytim

Women: FDU at SFU

Tipoff: 7 p.m., DeGol Arena, Loretto

Records: Fairleigh Dickinson (11-3 overall, 1-0 Northeast Conference); Saint Francis (3-12, 1-1)

TV: NEC Front Row

Notable: Saint Francis leads the all-time series 47-28. … The Red Flash are averaging 12 points off turnovers. … Jade Campbell and Natalie Johnson were name prime performers for their efforts last week. … Ava Renninger leads the Knights at 13.6 points per game, while Teneisia Brown is at 13.3. … FDU’s three losses have come to high major programs in Syracuse, UConn and Rutgers.

Mirror prediction: Fairleigh Dickinson 77, Saint Francis 53

Mirror prediction record: 13-2

— Nate Ritchey

Mount men cruise to victory

CRESSON — The Mount Aloysius men used a big scoring advantage in the first half by putting up 56 points en route to a 90-73 win over Alfred State.

Will Hagwood led four Mounties (4-8) in double figures with 29, while Troy Tinch tallied 16, BJ Busbee collected 15 and De’Von Haggans recorded 14 to go along with his game-high 11 rebounds..

Juniata men come up short

HUNTINGDON — The Juniata College men tried to battle back from a small first half deficit but didn’t have enough in a 67-64 loss to Moravian.

Ty Kocak picked up a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds for the 0-12 Eagles, while Jayden Bilger hit for 15 and Jonah Melchizedek had 13.

PSU Altoona men edge Behrend

The Penn State Altoona men had a seven-point lead at the half, then held off a second-half rally by Penn State Behrend to escape the Adler Gymnasium with a 78-76 win.

Dwayne Jones posted 17 points to lead the 7-6 Lions, while Kal-El Gentles and Portage grad Kaden Claar contributed 13 apiece.

Mount women crush Alfred State

CRESSON — The Mount Aloysius women captured the first three quarters against Alfred State and cruised to a 72-54 victory.

Masie Reed delivered a team-high 15 points, while Molly Kosmack registered 14, Mackenzie Barr contributed 12 and Ashlie Weaver added 10 for the Mounties, now 7-6.

Juniata women reach .500 mark

HUNTINGDON — The Juniata College women evened its record at 6-6 with a 66-52 win over Moravian in a game it won with strong showings in the middle quarters.

Steph Emert’s 20 points fronted the Eagles, Laney Gerdich ripped down 17 rebounds, while Hally Sherman posted 17 points and Bri Bodtorf added 10.

Slow start sinks PSU Altoona women

The Penn State Altoona women fell behind Penn State Behrend from the start in an 88-70 loss at the Adler Gymnasium.

Avana Sayles and Bellwood-Antis grad Jaidyn McCracken led the Lady Lions with 16 points each, while Jess Burns posted 14 and Raniyah Green finished with 10.

From Mirror reports