Penn State Reaches a Basketball Milestone With Win Over UMBC

Before the season, Penn State men's basketball coach Mike Rhoades said "Why not?" when referring to the Nittany Lions' chances to make the NCAA Tournament. Though it's far too early to entertain that idea, Penn State is off to strong non-conference start.

The Nittany Lions defeated UMBC 103-54 on Friday night at the Bryce Jordan Center, moving to 2-0 on the young season, Moreover, Penn State produced its second consecutive 100-point game, a first in program history. Penn State opened the 2024-25 campaign with a 108-66 win over Binghamton.

Yanic Konan Niederhauser, a 7-foot forward who transferred to Penn State from Northern Illinois, continued his exceptional introduction to the Nittany Lions. Niederhauser led Penn State with 18 points, making eight of 12 shots, and added nine rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Niederhauser has scored 34 points in his first two games at Penn State.

Penn State controlled the game throughout, taking a 10-1 lead that reached 17-4 and 43-28 by halftime, which the team entered after making five of last seven shots. The Nittany Lions outscored UMBC 27-8 through the first 10 minutes of the second half and turned to the bench. Eleven players scored for Penn State, which produced 51 bench points. Penn State shot 43.5 percent from 3-point range, with Jahvin Carter going 3-for-3.

Five Nittany Lions scored in double figures. Joining Niederhauser were D’Marco Dunn (16 on 5-for-7 shooting), Carter and Zach Hicks (12 each) and Nick Kern Jr. (10). Guard Ace Baldwin Jr. had a game-high 12 assists.

Noteworthy for the Nittany Lions

• This is the first season Penn State has produced two 100-plus point games since 1954-55.

• Penn State’s 49-point margin of victory was its highest since beating Colgate by 53 in 2007.

• Penn State scored 60 points in the second half for the first time since 2009.

• The Nittany Lions' 51-point performance from the bench was their first of 50+ since 2005.

• Penn State scored 22 points off turnovers and held a 52-20 advantage in points in the paint.