SEATTLE – In a tightly contested back-and-forth affair, the Penn State men’s basketball team was able to overcome nine ties and 15 lead changes en route to a scrappy 63-60 win over the Washington Huskies on Wednesday night inside Alaska Airlines Arena.

The Nittany Lions utilized a balanced attack to pick up their first road win in Big Ten Conference play on the 2025-26 campaign, in addition to securing a victory in the program’s first-ever trip to Seattle. The late-night contest saw neither team manage a lead in excess of six points, with the game staying largely within one possession throughout all 40 minutes. PSU utilized a nine-man rotation and welcomed the return of redshirt sophomore guard Eli Rice in addition to junior forward Saša Ciani, who had both been limited due to injury in the past few weeks.

On the offensive end, Penn State called on four student-athletes to contribute double figures in the hard-fought road victory, with redshirt junior guard Freddie Dilione V leading the way with a team-high 16 points. The Fayetteville, North Carolina, native added two rebounds, an assist and a steal in 34 minutes of game action. Senior forward Josh Reed saw his ninth consecutive double-digit outing in Big Ten play in addition to his 10th-such performance in the last 11 outings with 14 points. Freshman guard Kayden Mingo poured in 13 points with a team-high trio of assists, and Rice celebrated his return to the court with 12 points on an ultra-efficient 4-for-6 performance from the field.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Nittany Lions came away with the opening tip, but Washington managed to strike first with a stepback jumper. Mingo answered the bell right away with a triple on a feed from Dilione V, but a steal and transition bucket for the Huskies saw Washington jump right back in front. Buckets fell both ways over the ensuing minutes, but a triple saw UW book a 9-6 advantage through the under-16 timeout in the first half.

Washington remained in the lead as the team’s traded scores to the tune of a 15-12 lead with just under 13 minutes to play in the first. Back-to-back layups from Rice saw the Nittany Lions lurch ahead and force a Washington timeout following a 6-0 Penn State scoring stretch. PSU continued its momentum defensively and led by as many as five points at 20-15, but Washington mustered consecutive makes and an and-one free throw to deadlock the game at 20 apiece at the under-eight.

Washington made it an 8-0 scoring run and took a 23-20 lead with 6:53 left in the first half, but the Blue & White answered right back with a basket from Reed in the painted area. The opening stanza remained competitive as time continued to wind down, but a basket from Dilione V and a right-wing transition triple from Rice put PSU ahead by four with less than four to go. The Nittany Lions continued to manage their four-point edge, taking a timeout with a 33-29 advantage at the 1:51 mark. The Blue & White ultimately took a 35-32 lead into the intermission.

UW immediately opened the second half with a transition triple to tie things up at 35 and utilized a pair of free throws moments later to lurch back in front. Reed underwent a personal 8-2 scoring run over the following two minutes to guide PSU to a 43-39 edge at the under-16. The squads traded blows over the next few minutes with the Nittany Lions able to maintain their four-point advantage with just over 10 minutes left to play in Wednesday night’s matchup.

UP NEXT

The Nittany Lions wrap up their Pacific Northwest road swing Saturday at Oregon. Tipoff from Eugene, Ore. is slated for 3 p.m. ET/noon PT on Big Ten Network.