No. 15 Oregon rallies to nip Nittany Lions
UNIVERSITY PARK — Jackson Shelstad scored 17 points, Keeshawn Barthelemy added 15, Jadrian Tracey had 13 and No. 15 Oregon held on to beat Penn State 82-81 on Sunday.
Nate Bittle had 11 points while TJ Bamba and Kwame Evans Jr. added 10 apiece for the Ducks (15-2, 4-2 Big Ten), who trailed for most of the second half before regaining the lead in the final minute.
The game was tied at 78 with just over a minute to go before Shelstad hit a midrange jumper that put Oregon up two with 47 seconds left. Kern tried a layup the other way, but the shot was off. Oregon gained possession, drew a foul and closed out the game with a pair of Tracey free throws.
Freddie Dilione V scored a career-high 21 points, Nick Kern added 19 and Puff Johnson had 15 for the Nittany Lions (12-5, 2-4) who lost their third in a row.
The Ducks led 41-34 at halftime and had to overcome a sloppy early second half. They came up with shots when they needed them to win their third straight.
The Nittany Lions were without star point guard Ace Baldwin Jr. who suffered a back injury in the team’s 91-52 loss to No. 13 Illinois on Jan. 8. They’ll need to get their leading scorer and setup man back to try and snap out of a three-game losing skid that includes two losses to AP Top 25 teams.
The Ducks made 5 of 11 3-pointers in the first half but were just 3-for-11 shooting beyond the arc in the second.
UP NEXT
Oregon: The Ducks host No. 20 Purdue on Saturday.
Penn State: The Nittany Lions visit No. 16 Michigan State on Wednesday.
In other Big Ten action on Sunday:
No. 16 Michigan State 78, Northwestern 68: EVANSTON, Ill. — Jaden Akins scored 14 points and No. 16 Michigan State extended its winning streak to nine games by beating Northwestern. Jase Richardson scored 13 points and Jeremy Fears Jr. had 12 points and eight assists for the Spartans, whose six dunks in the first half drew plenty of roars from visiting fans who seemed to make up half of the sellout crowd. Nick Martinelli scored 27 points and Jalen Leach had 17 to lead Northwestern, which lost for the first time at home and dropped its third straight overall.
No. 20 Purdue 104, Nebraska 68: WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Freshman C.J. Cox scored a career-high 23 points and Fletcher Loyer had 19 to propel No. 20 Purdue to a romp over Nebraska. Purdue hit four of its first six shots from long distance and finished 19 for 33 from 3-point range. Trey Kaufman-Renn scored 13 of his 15 points in the first half and Myles Colvin added 14 points for Purdue. Braden Smith had a team-leading 14 assists. Connor Essegian scored 17 points and Brice Williams added nine, well off his 19.4 scoring average, for the Cornhuskers.
No. 24 Michigan 91, Washington 75: ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Vladislav Goldin had 19 points and Nimari Burnett scored 16 to lead No. 24 Michigan over Washington. It was the Wolverines’ fifth straight victory. Roddy Gayle Jr. had 15 points in his return to the lineup after missing a game because of a bruised knee he suffered against USC. After Washington took a 5-4 lead, Tre Donaldson followed with a layup that gave Michigan the lead for good. The Wolverines built their advantage to as much as 19 points in the second half. Great Osobor scored 23 points, including 16 in the first half, for the Huskies.