Penn State fails to keep up with Bucknell; falls to Bison

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State dropped its fourth straight game since Feast Week, losing to Bucknell 76-67.

The first half showed quick play offensively, with forward Qudus Wahab scoring eight of the team’s first 11 points of the game. Guard Ace Baldwin Jr. contributed five points on 2-5 shooting.

The first half showed stretches of momentum swings, with Penn State working well on the ends of the half, compared to Bucknell who won the middle segments of the first half. The second half was more of the same, with Bucknell going on a 6-0 run to tie the game at the halfway mark.

However, it was the late stages of the second half that had Bucknell taking this game away from Penn State. The team shot 41.7% from downtown, compared to Penn State’s 27.3% clip from beyond the arc.

Overall, it was a poor shooting day for the Nittany Lions. They shot 46.9% from the floor, but the deep ball hit 21.1% of the time.

“I think we’re in a rut,” head coach Mike Rhoades said. “We’re not as connected as maybe we first were. We’ve dealt with some adversity, we’ve dealt with some stuff that has affected our program.”

In the eyes of guard Puff Johnson, it was how the Bison were able to take away the paint to set up those long balls. “They’re packing the paint, and they’re really just daring us to shoot,” the Moon Township native said. “They're collapsing all five at the hoop, especially in droves.”

The team was without guard Jameel Brown, who was seen with a walking boot on his right foot, and Demetrius Lilley for an undisclosed reason. This caused Penn State to go four deep off the bench, losing two contributors to their depth.

Bucknell’s Jack Forrest had a game-high 23 points on 8-14 shooting and went 5-7 from three-point land. Noah Williamson chipped in 21 points of his own on 9-13 shooting, including 15 points in the second half alone.

As a team, Bucknell shot 69.2% from the field the entire second half, in part with Williamson’s performance. “Our defense just really became porous,” Rhoades said. “We gave some guys easy opportunities. When you see the ball going in or you make a couple of plays, that gives you great confidence.”

Now, the Nittany Lions have a 4-4 record heading into the start of Big Ten play, hitting the road to College Park to take on Maryland. Johnson sees the road ahead and looks to keep fighting.

“We have to fight and come out swinging every day,” Johnson said. “And losses like these, they’re not supposed to happen, but it’s a part of life.”

For Rhoades, it is what he signed up for. “Taking over a program, you have got to deal with failure at times,” Rhoades said. “You have got to go through failure before you have success.”

Jonathan Draeger is a fourth-year broadcast journalism major. To contact him, email jonathan.r.draeger43@gmail.com or jrd6052@psu.edu.