Lions drop first game of season to Clemson, 75-67
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Penn State men’s basketball team (6-1, 0-0 Big Ten) suffered its first loss of the season, falling to Clemson (6-1, 0-0 ACC) in the Sunshine Slam championship game by a final score of 75-67 Tuesday afternoon at the Ocean Center.
The back-and-forth game saw seven lead changes and seven tie scores with neither team leading by more than eight points until the final buzzer.
Ace Baldwin Jr. led the Nittany Lions with his third double-double of the season, finishing with 20 points and 11 assists. Yanic Konan Niederhauser contributed 14 points and six rebounds, while Nick Kern Jr. tallied 11 points and six rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Neither team could find an offensive rhythm through the first nine minutes as Clemson held a slim 11-10 lead following a Puff Johnson layup at the 11:31 mark.
The Tigers scored the next six points to pull ahead 17-10 less than two minutes later before a pair of dunks and a Dilione V 3-pointer helped Penn State rattle off eight unanswered points and put the Nittany Lions ahead 18-17 with 6:24 left on the first-half clock.
Penn State’s lead reached as much as seven at 28-21 two minutes later following back-to-back Konan Niederhauser buckets and a Nick Kern Jr. layup, but the Tigers answered with three-straight triples to grab the lead right back at 30-28 with 2:56 to play.
The teams exchanged baskets in the final three minutes of the stanza as Clemson took a two-point lead, 38-36, into halftime.
The Nittany Lions scored the first basket of the second half, but Clemson took advantage of Penn State turnovers to pull ahead 47-40 four and a half minutes into the term.
The Tigers owned a six-point lead at 54-48 four minutes later before seven points from Baldwin Jr. fueled a 9-0 Nittany Lion streak over a 2:09 stretch and Penn State jumped back in front 57-54 with 10:30 to play.
A Chase Hunter triple gave the Tigers the lead back at 61-59 with just under eight minutes left on the clock. The Nittany Lions went cold for over four minutes, scoring just two points via free throws, as Clemson was able to pull ahead 67-61 as the clock wound down to 3:58.
A Zack Hicks triple with 2:45 to play marked Penn State’s first field goal since 8:41 and brought the Nittany Lions within 67-64.
The score sat at 71-67 Clemson with 54 second left, but the Nittany Lions weren’t able to find the baskets they’d need and the Tigers scored the game’s final four points to earn the 75-67 win.
GAME NOTES
Penn State (6-1) suffered its first loss of the season. The Nittany Lions were off to a 6-0 start to the season, its first 6-0 start in 25 years.
Ace Baldwin Jr. recorded his third double-double of the season. The Baltimore native posted 20 points and 11 assists to go along with a pair of steals. It was his second 20-point outing of the season.
Nick Kern Jr. tallied his fifth double-figure scoring effort of the season with 11 points against the Tigers. Kern Jr. has scored10-plus in four-consecutive games coming off the bench.
Yanic Konan Niederhauser recorded 14 points, including 11 on a perfect 5-for-5 effort in the first half alone, to go along with six boards.
Freddie Dilione V corralled a career-best six rebounds to go along with nine points.
UP NEXT
The Nittany Lions return home Sunday to host Buffalo inside the Bryce Jordan Center on Schuylkill County Day. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m. on Big Ten Network.