Penn State’s Ace Baldwin helps Nittany Lions deal Iowa men an 89-79 loss

(This story was written in Cedar Rapids.)

Ace Baldwin certainly was an ace Thursday night, to the chagrin of Iowa.

The senior Penn State point guard scored 13 of his 22 points in the final 3:48 to carry the Nittany Lions to an 89-79 men’s basketball win over the Hawkeyes Thursday night at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pa.

Despite shooting 55.9 percent from the field (and 65.5 percent in the second half), Iowa slipped to 5-7 in the Big Ten, 13-10 total. Penn State won its third-straight game by double-digits and is 6-6, 12-11.

Iowa erased an eight-point halftime deficit, then led 63-56 with 8:38 remaining. The lead was gone less than two minutes later, and for good, with Penn State scoring 35 points in the last 9:54.

“Our defense was not what we needed it to be,” Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said on the Hawkeye Radio Network postgame show. “We weren’t tough enough at either end, and that’s disappointing.”

The Hawkeyes tied the game with 4:07 left, then Baldwin took over. The transfer from VCU had a pair of 3-pointers and a traditional 3-point play in that time.

Penn State entered the game ranked 281st in the nation in 3-point percentage at .315, but made 12 of 23. Iowa was just 4-of-15. The Hawkeyes had 18 turnovers, their most in a Big Ten game this season. Baldwin, the Big Ten steals leader, had four.

Penn State was 25-of 33 in free throws to Iowa’s 9-of-10.

Senior forward Ben Krikke led the Hawkeyes with 22 points. It was his seventh 20-point game, but first time he had topped 10 points in the last six outings.

“They made 12 3s and we only attempted 15,” Krikke said. “It’s tough to win games like that.”

The game started with promise for the Hawkeyes as they made seven of their first nine shots in taking a 17-10 lead. All five Iowa starters scored in the first five minutes.

The Nittany Lions got the better of the rest of the half in taking a 42-34 lead to halftime. They had a 15-2 run to open a 33-23 advantage, with Iowa scoring just two points in the span of 8:21.

The Hawkeyes came in averaging just 9.7 turnovers in Big Ten games, but had 10 in the first half alone.

Iowa played the last 12:32 of the first half without starting center Owen Freeman, who was taken out after getting his second foul. The Hawkeyes led 19-16 at that time. Freeman stayed out of foul trouble the rest of the way and played 26 minutes, scoring nine points.

The Hawkeyes’ next game is at home Sunday against Minnesota (15-7, 6-5 Big Ten). Game time is 2 p.m.

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