Penn State rallies from 18-point deficit to upset Ohio State

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State basketball snapped its five-game losing streak with a thrilling 83-80 comeback win over the Ohio State Buckeyes. After being down as many as 18, the Nittany Lions had a second-half explosion that powered them to an electric win. Ace Baldwin knocked down a side step three with just 32 seconds to play to give Penn State its first lead since the 12:01 mark in the first half. The Nittany Lions only led for 59 seconds in the game, but that’s all Mike Rhoades and company would need. 

Penn State basketball rallies to upset Ohio State in BJC

The story of the game came down to the shooting and the rebounding in the second half. On the game, the Nittany Lions shot 48% from the field and 42% from deep. In the second half, however, the team shot a blistering 61% from the field and 53% from deep, nailing 8 of the 10 total threes made in the game. It just felt like the offense could do no wrong in the second half, whether that was generating open shots for guys like Leo O’Boyle or D’Marco Dunn or Kanye Clary hitting tough off-balance shots through contact.

Penn State once again lost the rebounding battle 43 to 31, but in the second half, the Nittany Lions were able to win it 19-17, including pulling down 10 offensive rebounds, which was really the difference in the game. Timely shot making and a huge collective effort on the boards was the key for the Nittany Lions to pull this one out. 

Clary once again led the Nittany Lions in scoring, putting up 19 points on 7-17 shooting from the field. It wasn’t the most efficient night for Clary, but he made timely shots, including a couple of huge and-ones in the second half to shrink the Ohio State lead.

Penn State basketball got a huge boost off the bench this game from O’Boyle and Dunn. O’Boyle, coming off a nice shooting night at Maryland, continued to stay hot, knocking down 4-5 shots from deep. He scored 15 points overall and also added on 4 rebounds and a big steal late in the game.

Dunn put up 16 points on 7-11 shooting from the field and 2-4 shooting from deep in just 20 minutes. He seemed to be ready to spark the offense whenever it started to stall. His scoring off the bench is going to be very important for the Nittany Lions as the season progresses, and he showed why tonight. 

Ohio State had a solid night, shooting 45% from the field and 42% from deep. But with 16 turnovers and a defense that couldn’t get stops in the second half, the Buckeyes watched their lead slowly fade away until the game was lost.

Ohio State was led by sophomore guard Bruce Thornton, who put up 17 points on 4-11 shooting from the field. Penn State transfer Evan Mahaffey had a great game in his return to Happy Valley. He only scored 5 points on 2-5 shooting but his impact was huge. He had 5 rebounds and 6 assists with a huge block on Puff Johnson, and overall he just always seemed to make the right play. 

Plenty to work on, but a chance to grow

You aren’t gonna shoot like Penn State did in the second half every game, but if you can generate the shots the Nittany Lions were able to consistently, you have to feel good about the direction the offense is going. There is still a lot to work on, specifically on defense, but this was a gutsy win by a team that needed one badly.

Penn State basketball will have a chance to build on this next Saturday against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. This game is taking place at Madison Square Garden in New York City in a big neutral location game for both teams. The game tips off at Noon EST and will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network. 

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