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Lions battle, but fall to Ducks

Penn State's Yanic Conan Niederhauser (14) goes up to score against Oregon's Nate Bittle (32) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025, in State College, Pa. (AP Photo/Gary M. Baranec)

The Associated Press

UNIVERSITY PARK — Jackson Shelstad scored 17 points, Keeshawn Barthelemy added 15, Jadrian Tracey had 13 and No. 15 Oregon held on to beat Penn State, 82-81, on Sunday.

Nate Bittle had 11 points while TJ Bamba and Kwame Evans Jr. added 10 apiece for the Ducks (15-2, 4-2 Big Ten), who trailed for most of the second half before regaining the lead in the final minute.

The game was tied at 78 with just over a minute to go before Shelstad hit a midrange jumper that put Oregon up two with 47 seconds left. Kern tried a layup the other way, but the shot was off. Oregon gained possession, drew a foul and closed out the game with a pair of Tracey free throws.

“This hurts, because this is a game we could have had, just how it goes,” PSU coach Mike Rhoades said. “I’m not going to sugarcoat it. I’m not doing that. It’s a game we could have won, we should have won. We didn’t win.”

Freddie Dilione V scored a career-high 21 points, Nick Kern added 19 and Puff Johnson had 15 for the Nittany Lions (12-5, 2-4) who lost their third in a row.

Takeaways

Oregon: The Ducks led 41-34 at halftime and had to overcome a sloppy early second half. They came up with shots when they needed them to win their third straight.

Penn State: The Nittany Lions were without star point guard Ace Baldwin Jr. who suffered a back injury in the team’s 91-52 loss to No. 13 Illinois on Jan. 8. They’ll need to get their leading scorer and setup man back to try and snap out of a three-game losing skid that includes two losses to AP Top 25 teams.

Key stat

The Ducks made 5 of 11 3-pointers in the first half but were just 3-for-11 shooting beyond the arc in the second.

Up next

Oregon: The Ducks host No. 20 Purdue on Saturday.

Penn State: The Nittany Lions visit No. 16 Michigan State on Wednesday.

OREGON (15-2): Angel 1-3 1-2 3, Bittle 5-11 0-0 11, Bamba 3-9 4-4 10, Shelstad 7-10 0-0 17, Tracey 4-8 4-5 13, Barthelemy 6-11 0-0 15, Evans 4-4 2-2 10, S.Cook 1-1 1-6 3. Totals 31-57 12-19 82.

PENN ST. (12-5): Hicks 5-11 2-2 14, Konan Niederhauser 4-7 0-0 8, Dilione 6-12 5-6 21, Kern 8-20 3-4 19, Johnson 6-10 2-2 15, Dunn 2-3 0-0 4, Nzeh 0-0 0-0 0, Stewart 0-3 0-0 0, J.Carter 0-1 0-0 0, Goodman 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 31-68 12-14 81.

Halftime–Oregon 41-34. 3-Point Goals–Oregon 8-22 (Shelstad 3-5, Barthelemy 3-6, Tracey 1-3, Bittle 1-4, Angel 0-1, Bamba 0-3), Penn St. 7-19 (Dilione 4-6, Hicks 2-7, Johnson 1-3, Konan Niederhauser 0-1, Stewart 0-2). Rebounds–Oregon 28 (Barthelemy 6), Penn St. 32 (Kern 8). Assists–Oregon 22 (Shelstad 8), Penn St. 13 (Hicks, Kern 4). Total Fouls–Oregon 11, Penn St. 15. A–8,972 (15,261).

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