STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – The University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team closed out the non-conference portion of its 2024-25 season with an 86-66 loss at Penn State on Sunday afternoon.
 
The Quakers were down just three at the half, and it was still just a seven-point game with a little more than 11 minutes remaining. However, the Nittany Lions reeled off 16 of the game's next 18 points—including 11 in a row over a 1:58 span—and that was the knockout blow at the Bryce Jordan Center.
 
Penn fell to 4-9 and looks ahead to Ivy League play starting with Dartmouth in two weeks. PSU improved to 11-2 with the victory.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Penn had 17 assists on its 22 baskets in Sunday's game.
 
*Penn knocked down 11 three-point shots, the third straight game the Quakers have reached double figures in that category.
 
*Junior Michael Zanoni led all scorers with 27 points—not just his Penn high but also his collegiate high including his two years at Mercer—and grabbed six rebounds which is tied for his collegiate best.
 
*Zanoni also knocked down seven three-pointers on Sunday, most by a Penn player this season and tied for eighth-most in program history in a game (most recently Jordan Dingle on January 7, 2023 at Columbia).
 
*Senior Nick Spinoso was the Quakers' only other double-digit scorer on Sunday, with 13 points, and he led the Red and Blue with eight rebounds and four assists.
 
*In just his third collegiate game, freshman Bradyn Foster scored eight points (on 4-of-5 shooting from the field) and added three rebounds and two steals in nearly 16 minutes.
 
*Sophomore Niklas Polonowski also had eight points on Sunday, including a pair of treys,
 
*Three players had three assists on Sunday: senior George Smith, junior Dylan Williams, and sophomore Sam Brown.
 
*Penn State had five guys reach double figures in the scoring column, led by Ace Baldwin Jr. who had 23 to go with 10 assists. Yanic Kohan Niederhauser had 19 points and 15 rebounds, while Nick Kern scored 13 points and Puff Johnson and Freddie Dilione V added 11 each.
 
How It Happened
Penn was down 8-4 at the first media timeout, but Zanoni hit three free throws out of the stoppage and then Polonowski drained his first trey of the day to put the Quakers in front, 10-8, just over five minutes in. Another modest five-point run turned a 15-12 deficit into a 17-15 lead, forcing a Penn State timeout, and then Zanoni answered a Nittany Lions basket with a triple that gave the Quakers a 20-17 advantage. The Red and Blue were still in front late in the half, at 27-25, but PSU scored the next seven points and took a 34-31 lead into halftime.
 
Brown scored his only bucket of the day to start the second half, but Penn State scored nine of the next 12 points to take a 43-36 lead at the first media timeout of the period. Another Zanoni triple got Penn within six, at 45-39, and a Levine three-pointer had the score at 51-44 just on the other side of the under-12 media.
 
Unfortunately, Penn's offense went quiet after that, a Spinoso hook shot the only points the Quakers scored over more than five minutes. The host Nittany Lions took advantage, scoring five in a row before Spinoso's basket and then 11 more (in a 1:58 span) after the senior scored. That pushed PSU's lead to 21, at 67-46, and put an end to any comeback thoughts as Penn never got closer than 18 the rest of the way.
 
Up Next
Penn is off until Saturday, Jan. 11 when the Quakers open Ivy League play at Dartmouth. Tipoff in Hanover will take place at 2 p.m.
 
For the latest on Penn men's basketball, follow @PennMBB on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.