Penn State mauls Binghamton in season-opening blowout, 108-66

Penn State head coach Mike Rhoades entered his program’s season-opener with Binghamton with optimism. Hosting the Bears at the Bryce Jordan Center, his Nittany Lions had finished six weeks of preseason demonstrating the depth, length, and talent his staff had worked so diligently to assemble in the spring and summer.

“I think a lot of guys throughout the preseason have really contributed, impacted the program and have given us a lot of different ways we can play in different lineups. Just in our second year, the level of depth that we have in the program is something I’m really proud of,” said Rhoades. “I give credit to our staff in recruiting. Give credit to our staff in the development part. And then, so much credit to the players working very hard this offseason going into this season. It’s gonna be a lot of fun.”

In every sense for the Nittany Lions, it was.

Running roughshod over an outmatched Binghamton outfit, Penn State notched a 108-66 win to open the 2024-25 campaign.

Zach Hicks led all scorers with 22 points for the Nittany Lions on 9-of-12 shooting, hitting 4-of-6 shots from beyond the arc. Transfer big man Yanic Konan Niederhauser, a versatile 7-footer from Northern Illinois, began his Penn State career with flair. His 16 points were second, leading the way at the free throw line and adding a team-high seven rebounds to his stat line.

“I told them that it was all about trying to play to the standard,” said Rhoades. “We’re trying to create a Penn State mentality, how we go about things, no matter who we play against. That was my challenge to the guys today. No matter what the score was, play to our mentality that we want to have at all times.

“I thought the guys did a great job sharing the ball, helped each other on defense, getting deflections, getting turnovers, created offense. And I just thought the seniors did an awesome job being ready to go today.”

How it happened

That played out from the start. Though the two teams jostled for position early, the Nittany Lions immediately seized a lead and never relinquished it. Needing until crossing the midpoint of the first half before opening up a double-digit lead on back-to-back trips for Nick Kern at the free throw line, Penn State ballooned its lead as Ace Baldwin his third 3-pointer of the first half at the 7:19 mark to take a 32-15 advantage.

Offset only intermittently by a Binghamton team completely overwhelmed by Penn State’s length and attacking press, the final 10 minutes of the first half ended on a 35-11 run for the Nittany Lions. In all, the aggressive approach netted 10 first-half steals, with Konan Niederhauser’s 12 points leading the way.

“You haven’t seen anything yet. He’s got so much more potential and so much more ability,” said Rhoades. “I think if he hangs out with Ace and Nick and those guys, he is only going to get better and better. He just has a great feel. He grew up in Europe playing. And he played against pros for a long, long time. He just has a great feel how to play basketball the right way.”

Meanwhile, two fouls to Baldwin opened the door for true freshman point guard Jahvin Carter to see extended run. Stepping in to run the point while Baldwin sat for eight minutes, Carter missed all four of his shot attempts but still finished +14 with a rebound and an assist in the frame.

Cruising behind their defensive prowess, Nittany Lions took a 54-23 lead to the half.

Second half, loosely

Out of the break, Penn State continued its offensive barrage, though its defensive intensity waned slightly. As Binghamton steadied itself on the offensive end, improving its shooting percentage to 53.6 percent from the floor including a 4-of-10 mark from deep, the Nittany Lions remained on the offensive.

With Zach Hicks heating up, scoring 13 of his total and true freshman Dominick Stewart stepping in to make all four of his field goal attempts, including a pair of 3-pointers, in just five minutes, the Nittany Lions matched their first-half scoring total with another 54.

Similarly pitching in on both ends of the floor, Freddie Dilione and D’Marco Dunn each pitched in on the scoring end (10 and 12 points, respectively) as well as in the rebounding column (3 and 2) and steals (2 and 3).

At 1-0 on the year, the Nittany Lions are set to face UMBC on Friday evening back at the Bryce Jordan Center.

Tip-ins

• Two of the newest Nittany Lions were in street clothes for Monday evening’s game. Nebraska transfer Eli Rice was described as having a setback that would not “be too long” until his return. True freshman big man Miles Goodman, meanwhile, was in “the protocol.” Said Rhoades, “It’ll be a little bit of time, but they’ll be back sooner than later.”

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