Penn State Wins Third-Straight with 89-79 Victory Over Iowa - Penn State Athletics (2024)

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's basketball team picked up its third-straight Big Ten victory as the Nittany Lions used a stellar offensive performance to earn an 89-79 win over Iowa Thursday night inside the Bryce Jordan Center.

With the game tied at 71 with 4:07 to play, point guard Ace Baldwin Jr. came up with clutch play after clutch play as the senior scored 13 points in the game's final 3:48. Baldwin Jr. finished with 22 points, six assists and four steals while engineering a Penn State offense that shot 52.0 percent (26-50) from the field and 52.2 percent (12-23) from 3-point range.

CLUTCH 💯💯 13 points in the final 3:48 for @yeah_ace3 🤯#WeAre pic.twitter.com/Lu67oZf5UG

— Penn State Men's Basketball (@PennStateMBB) February 9, 2024

Veteran big man Qudus Wahab finished with 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting to go along with seven rebounds. Junior Zach Hicks added 14 points, while D'Marco Dunn contributed 12.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Five points from D'Marco Dunn helped the Nittany Lions get out to an early 7-3 lead two minutes into the game before Iowa used a 6-for-6 stretch from the field over a 3:34 span to pull ahead 17-10 at the 14:25 mark.
• A trio of Jameel Brown triples fueled a 19-4 Penn State run over the next 5:44 as the Nittany Lions went 5-for-11 from the field and forced three Iowa turnovers to turn the seven-point deficit into an eight-point edge at 29-21 with 6:21 to play in the first half.
• The Nittany Lion defense limited the Hawkeyes to just one field goal between 11:53 and 3:33 to help the Penn State lead reach double-digits at 33-23.
• Iowa heated up with an 11-5 streak in a 2:48 stretch to pull within four at 38-34, but the Nittany Lions scored the final four points of the half to take a 42-34 lead into the locker room.
• The Hawkeyes spent the first 5:20 of the second half on a 12-4 run to knot the score at 46-46 with 13:46 to play.
• Penn State was back up by four at 53-49 thanks to five-straight points from Dunn a minute later, but Iowa scored 12 of the game's next 13 points to pull ahead 61-54 with 9:54 on the clock.
• Back-to-back triples from Zach Hicks and Ace Baldwin Jr. then capped a 10-2 Penn State response as the Nittany Lions took just 2:24 to pull back in front at 64-63 with 7:04 to play.
• The score was tied again at 71-71three minutes later before Baldwin Jr. nailed the go-ahead triple at the 3:48 mark. He added 10 more points in the final 2:48 as the Nittany Lions pulled away down the stretch to earn the 89-79 win.

GAME NOTES

• The Nittany Lions picked up their third-straight conference win and now sit at an even 6-6 in Big Ten play and in a three-way tie for sixth place in the conference standings.
• Penn State's 89 points are its most in a Big Ten game this season and its second-most overall during the 2023-24 slate.
• Penn State shot above 50 percent from both the field and 3-point range for the second-straight game.
• The Nittany Lions are now 9-3 inside the Bryce Jordan Center this season.
• Penn State held a 25-9 free throw advantage. The Nittany Lions drew 22 fouls and committed just 14.
• The Nittany Lions had 18 assists on 26 made field goals.
• Ace Baldwin Jr. notched his second-straight 22-point game and his fifth 20-plus point performance of the season. He finished 5-for-7 from the field, 3-for-4 from deep and a perfect 9-for-9 from the charity stripe.
• Baldwin Jr. added a team-best six assists and four steals. It's his eighth game this season with four or more steals.
• D'Marco Dunn posted his third-straight double-figure scoring effort. The junior collected 12 points, two rebounds, and two steals against the Hawkeyes.
• Zach Hicks finished with 14 points, marking his second-straight double-digit scoring game.
• Qudus Wahab scored 14 points on 6-for-8 shooting, against Iowa, his second-straight double-figure scoring outing. Wahab also grabbed seven boards.

FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Mike Rhoades

Ace Baldwin Jr. & Qudus Wahab

HIGHLIGHTS

UP NEXT

• Penn State is back on the road this weekend to face Northwestern Sunday at 1 p.m. ET/noon CT on Big Ten Network.

The 2023-24 Penn State men's basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.