'That's Not Us.' Penn State Squanders 16-Point Lead in Loss to Minnesota

The Nittany Lions had a big edge and a loud crowd. And then the Gophers took over.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. | Penn State men’s basketball celebrated the annual THON game paired with a “Wear White” theme across the street for men’s ice hockey, which meant Happy Valley was jumping Saturday night. One of the season’s best Bryce Jordan Center crowds watched a strong start, but then Penn State squandered a 16-point lead to Minnesota in the second half to dampen the mood. Minnesota won 83-74, marking the second time Penn State lost a double-digit, second-half lead at home this season.

Penn State (9-11) rode a hot first half of shooting with fantastic ball movement to build its 16-point lead. With 11 assists on 18 shots, seven forced turnovers and 52.9 percent shooting from the floor, the Lions played what coach Mike Rhoades aptly called one of their best halves of the season. Then Penn State’s biggest bugaboo, playing a full 40 minutes, emerged once again.

Minnesota opened the second half with a 17-2 run, and Penn State went 5 minutes without a field goal. The Lions improbably did enough to tie the game with just under three minutes to play, but Minnesota’s Cam Christie hit the back-breaker: He drew an and-1 opportunity, missed the free throw and had teammate Joshua Ola-Joseph corral the offensive rebound with an and-1 of his own. 

That sequence gave the Gophers an insurmountable six-point lead. It also proved that the momentum Penn State generated from its upset of Wisconsin has dissolved.

“We're not good enough yet. Call it as it is. We're just not good enough yet,” Rhoades said, making a number of references to needing to build mental fortitude. “And it's gonna take some time, but man, you get excited when you see that first 20 minutes. It's not good enough.”

Minnesota's Dawson Garcia led all scorers with 20 points, while Christie added 19. Ace Baldwin Jr. and Qudus Wahab scored 16 and 15, respectively, for Penn State.

'That’s not us’

Penn State’s second-half collapse came thanks to Minnesota’s 58.6-percent shooting, including 42.9 percent from 3-point range. The Lions allowed easy baskets too often and didn’t sustain defense after a strong first half. Minnesota scored 52 points in the second half.

“That's not us,” Baldwin said. “We let guys get wide-open shots, weren't talking. We just weren't being us.”

Once again, there was a foul discrepancy, as the Gophers shot 26 free throws to Penn State’s 18. Rhoades contended that many of his team’s shooting fouls led to the second-half runs and were largely unnecessary.

Ball goes stagnant

Penn State's 11-assist first half was impressive. As the Lions built a 14-0 run nearing halftime, they scored five straight baskets inside with easy looks. Recent standout Demetrius Lilley tied his career high with eight points during that run.

But Penn State delivered just three assists on made baskets in the second half, illustrating a true tale-of-two-halves outcome that has become all too familiar. Players forced drives and contested layups down the stretch, which impacted the team's brutal 35.7 percent shooting mark.

“I think when they went on that run in the second half early, we got frustrated. We weren't mentally tough enough,” Rhoades said. “Just, 'alright, relax. There's tons of time on the clock. Let's get ourselves going here.' And the ball stuck a little bit, we took some tougher shots, we didn't finish.”

Injury report

Starting guards Kanye Clary and Nick Kern Jr. each exited Saturday’s game late in the second half with injury and did not return. Clary appeared to run into a Minnesota player’s elbow and laid on the ground for some time, clutching his face. He walked off with a towel covering part of his face.

Kern, meanwhile, appeared to have his legs lock up and fell to the ground, prompting trainers to come stretch him out. They had to carry him off of the court. Rhoades didn’t provide much of an update on either after the loss.

“They're in the training room right now being evaluated by our trainers and the doc,” Rhoades said. “We'll know some stuff here soon.”

Up next

Penn State visits Rutgers on Wednesday. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network.

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Max Ralph is a Penn State senior studying Broadcast Journalism with minors in sports studies and Japanese. He previously covered Penn State football for two years with The Daily Collegian and has reported with the Associated Press and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Follow him on Twitter (X) @maxralph_ and Instagram @mralph_59.

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