UNIVERSITY PARK — Ace Baldwin Jr. had 23 points and 10 assists to help Penn State to an 86-66 win over Penn on Sunday to remain unbeaten at home to start the season.
The Nittany Lions (11-2) closed their nonconference schedule and return to Big Ten Conference play Thursday when they host to Northwestern.
Michael Zanoni hit two first-half 3-pointers, each one to put the Quakers in front, and his four-point play with 5 minutes, 13 seconds left in the half made it 24-23. But Yanic Konan Niederhauser hit a jumper in the final minute to send Penn State into intermission with a 34-31 advantage.
Sam Brown’s jumper to open the second half pulled Penn to within 34-33, but the Nittany Lions got layups from Freddie Dilione V and Baldwin to ignite a 15-6 run to push the lead to 49-39. Penn State held a 26-point advantage going into the final minute before Penn’s Zanoni hit back-to-back 3-pointers to set the final margin.
Baldwin converted 12 of 12 at the free-throw line, and Penn State was a collective 22 of 26. Niederhauser scored 19 points and grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds. Nick Kern Jr. finished with 13 points off the bench, and Dilione and Puff Johnson each added 11 points.
Zanoni converted 7 of 12 from behind the arc and finished with a career-high 27 points to lead Penn (4-9). Nick Spinoso contributed 13 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
The win was coach Mike Rhoades’ 400th career victory.
The Quakers will have almost two weeks off before opening Ivy League play January 11 at Dartmouth.
