1. We lost this game because of 17 TOs, and because Dylan Harper had an off night (due in part to a rolled ankle but also because PSU did a good job taking him out of the game with the zone defense in the second half). We simply cannot afford to have one of our two stars have an off night.
2. We started off 5-11 from deep in the first half, but finished 7-21, so 2-10 in the second half.
3. Ace Bailey had another elite night on offense (30 points on a torrid 13-15 FG), but his two immature plays after dunks really set back our comeback, especially the first one. We cut the lead to 6 there, but he gets T’d up and PSU scores 4 points on the FTs and ensuing possession. Game effectively over at that point.
4. Ace Baldwin was a terror on defense with 5 steals, but he also made their offense go, with 8 assists and 22 points. His dribble penetration and passing opened things up for Konan Neiderhauser to get 7 easy buckets down low, and he went for 18 points.
5. Our supporting cast did not provide enough tonight to offset Dylan’s subpar game. Only Lathan Sommerville (12 points, 8 rebounds) and Dylan Grant (7 points, 3 rebounds) showed up in a big way. Acuff (0 points), JWill (6 points but 5 TOs), Martini (3 points), JMike (0 points), Derkack (6 points) just ineffective.
6. This is actually not a “bad loss” in a vacuum. Penn State is a good team with experienced and talented players, and this was a quad 1 road game. But it was a must win because of the hole we dug by losing to Kennesaw State and Princeton, as well as the three game losing streak during Dylan’s flu. There is ZERO margin for error, and we just can’t afford to lose difficult BUT WINNABLE games.
7. Barring a miracle finish (9-3 over the final 12), our faint NCAA hopes are over.
2. We started off 5-11 from deep in the first half, but finished 7-21, so 2-10 in the second half.
3. Ace Bailey had another elite night on offense (30 points on a torrid 13-15 FG), but his two immature plays after dunks really set back our comeback, especially the first one. We cut the lead to 6 there, but he gets T’d up and PSU scores 4 points on the FTs and ensuing possession. Game effectively over at that point.
4. Ace Baldwin was a terror on defense with 5 steals, but he also made their offense go, with 8 assists and 22 points. His dribble penetration and passing opened things up for Konan Neiderhauser to get 7 easy buckets down low, and he went for 18 points.
5. Our supporting cast did not provide enough tonight to offset Dylan’s subpar game. Only Lathan Sommerville (12 points, 8 rebounds) and Dylan Grant (7 points, 3 rebounds) showed up in a big way. Acuff (0 points), JWill (6 points but 5 TOs), Martini (3 points), JMike (0 points), Derkack (6 points) just ineffective.
6. This is actually not a “bad loss” in a vacuum. Penn State is a good team with experienced and talented players, and this was a quad 1 road game. But it was a must win because of the hole we dug by losing to Kennesaw State and Princeton, as well as the three game losing streak during Dylan’s flu. There is ZERO margin for error, and we just can’t afford to lose difficult BUT WINNABLE games.
7. Barring a miracle finish (9-3 over the final 12), our faint NCAA hopes are over.
