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PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- The Penn State men's basketball team trimmed a 17-point second-half deficit down to two in the final minutes, but fell just short as Rutgers handed Penn State an 80-76 loss Tuesday night at Jersey Mike's Arena.
The Nittany Lions were coming off an upset win at home over Purdue from last week, while Rutgers came into the game 1-4 in its last five games.
Zach Hicks led Penn State with 20 points behind six 3-pointers. Freddie Dilione V followed with 14 points, while Nick Kern Jr. tallied 10 points. Ace Baldwin was held to just eight points in the loss.
Penn State (8-2) held an early 7-2 lead just 2:02 into the game on the back of five points from Zach Hicks. The Scarlet Knights used 11-unanswered points to pull ahead 13-7 before back-to-back Nick Kern Jr. layups snapped the Rutgers streak and put the score at 13-11 with 12:56 left in the first half.
The score sat at 17-15 just over a minute before Rutgers used a 12-2 run over a four-minute stretch to pull ahead 29-17 at 7:21.
The Nittany Lions were within seven following triples from Hicks and Ace Baldwin Jr. that put the score at 33-26 with 5:14 left, but the Scarlet Knights scored 15 of the final 22 points of the half to take a 48-33 lead into halftime.
Rutgers scored the first basket of the second half before Freddie Dilione V rattled off seven unanswered points in less than a minute to force a Rutgers timeout as Penn State quickly trimmed a 17-point deficit down to 10 at 50-40 at 18:35.
The Scarlet Knights were back up 15 at 59-44, but Hicks answered with five-straight points and D'Marco Dunn followed with a triple to comprise an 8-0 run and pull the Nittany Lions within seven at 59-52 with 13:16 to play.
Penn State, which committed only six turnovers in the game, played tough defense down the stretch, allowing them to stay close, but could not convert a field goal in the final two minutes in the loss.
Dylan Harper's 24 points was tops for Rutgers, which also got 15 from Ace Bailey.
The Nittany Lions get back at it on Saturday with a home game against Coppin State. Tipoff is set for 12:30 p.m.
PENN ST. (8-2): Hicks 6-12 2-2 20, Konan Niederhauser 2-4 0-0 4, Baldwin 3-14 1-1 8, Dilione 6-12 1-1 14, Johnson 3-7 3-4 9, Kern 5-8 0-0 10, Dunn 3-8 0-0 7, Nzeh 2-3 0-1 4. Totals 30-68 7-9 76.
RUTGERS (6-4): Ogbole 1-1 0-0 2, Davis 2-4 0-0 4, Harper 8-14 5-9 24, Williams 3-9 1-3 8, Bailey 6-14 3-5 15, Derkack 2-4 5-8 9, Sommerville 3-4 0-0 6, Hayes 2-6 0-0 6, Acuff 2-4 0-0 6. Totals 29-60 14-25 80.
Halftime--Rutgers 48-33. 3-Point Goals--Penn St. 9-23 (Hicks 6-10, Dunn 1-2, Dilione 1-3, Baldwin 1-4, Johnson 0-4), Rutgers 8-22 (Harper 3-6, Acuff 2-4, Hayes 2-5, Williams 1-2, Derkack 0-1, Bailey 0-4). Rebounds--Penn St. 29 (Kern 7), Rutgers 42 (Bailey 15). Assists--Penn St. 15 (Baldwin 7), Rutgers 17 (Harper 5). Total Fouls--Penn St. 22, Rutgers 14. A--8,000