Rutgers had the two best players on the floor Monday night. But Penn State got key contributions from up and down its roster on a night when its back was against the wall and the Nittany Lions’ postseason hopes could have been on the line.

Four Penn State players reached double figures and the Nittany Lions found their shooting stroke at the Bryce Jordan Center, and it ended a losing streak.

Penn State downed Rutgers, 80-72, on Monday night, snapping a four-game skid ahead of a difficult road stretch.

The Scarlet Knights got 30 points from freshman star Ace Bailey, which made up for an off night from fellow freshman standout Dylan Harper. But no one else from the Rutgers supporting cast stepped in.

Penn State guard Ace Baldwin scored a team-high 22 points, while forward Yanic Konan Niederhauser had another solid Big Ten outing with 18 points. Guards Nick Kern (16 points) and Freddie Dilione (12 points) also reached double figures.

The Nittany Lions (12-6, 3-5 Big Ten) shot 49% from the floor and 47.6% from three-point range.

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Rutgers (10-9, 3-5) got only seven points on 3-of-11 shooting from Harper, who burned Penn State in the December meeting. Guard Lathan Sommerville scored 12 points on 2-of-4 shooting — he made all eight of his free throws — to be the only other Scarlet Knight to reach double figures.

Rutgers shot 50% from the field and 33.3% from three-point range for the game.

Penn State and Rutgers both started the matchup by setting the game of basketball back with a series of sloppy possessions. Konan Niederhauser and Baldwin fumbled a handoff on the perimeter that led to a slam in transition for Harper, and he later hit a 3-pointer to give the Scarlet Knights an early 9-2 lead.

Dilione helped spur the Nittany Lions response, though. He made his first three 3-pointers of the game with the third — a leaning shot in transition — tying the game at 16-16 with 11:14 left.

Rutgers responded with baskets from Sommerville and Derkack to go back ahead by four. After a layup by guard D’Marco Dunn to get back to within two, Penn State got its first lead of the game when Baldwin stole an inbounds pass and made a circus shot along the baseline while getting fouled. He completed the three-point play to make it 21-20.

The teams went back and forth the rest of the half. Penn State appeared to potentially be in a position to assert some control when it went on a 7-0 run, which featured Kern’s third made 3-pointer of the season, to take a 31-27 lead. Bailey, though, responded with a 3-pointer, and after Baldwin hit a 3-pointer with less than a minute remaining, the Nittany Lions took a 37-35 lead into the break.

The Penn State first half featured an interesting stat line where the Nittany Lions made six 2-pointers and seven 3-pointers. They struggled at the rim, but the outside shooting lifted the Nittany Lions through the first 20 minutes.

Rutgers moved ahead early in the second half behind a couple tough baskets from Bailey, and the Scarlet Knights appeared to be doing a solid job holding off any Penn State attempts at asserting control of the game. When Dilione hit a 3-pointer and Baldwin converted a layup on the fast break to put the Nittany Lions up by one, Harper and Bailey each made baskets to put Rutgers ahead.

Past the midway point of the second half, Penn State finally put together its strongest stretch of the game. Kern made a pair of free throws after drawing a foul and then made a layup. Baldwin hit a 3-pointer, and then when he missed his next attempt, Konan Niederhauser was there to clean up the miss to put Penn State ahead by six and force a Rutgers timeout.

After two more baskets from Konan Niederhauser, the run stretched out to 11-0, and the Nittany Lions had a 61-53 lead with 6:17 left.

Rutgers appeared to be gearing up for a run when Bailey dunked on Konan Niederhauser to bring the Scarlet Knights within six. But Bailey was called for a technical foul celebrating the basket, and Baldwin made two free throws on the other end. Konan Niederhauser made another basket, and the lead was out to 10.

Rutgers, though, did eventually find their footing, and a 10-2 run brough the Scarlet Knights to within 69-67 with 90 seconds remaining. Konan Niederhauser split a pair of free throws to keep it at a one-possession game. Harper missed a 3-pointer from the top of the key, and Kern scored in transition to make it a five-point game shortly thereafter.

TURNING POINT: Penn State’s 11-0 run put the Nittany Lions ahead for good. After a series of tough losses, Penn State showcased some resilience in responding to Rutgers and holding off the Scarlet Knights.

PENN STATE TOP PERFORMER: After a quiet start to Big Ten play, Konan Niederhauser appears to be finding his footing. His 18-point performance gave him back-to-back double-digit outings in Big Ten play after failing to get out of single digits in the first six league contests of the year. Konan Niederhauser was 7-of-8 from the field, and he also made four of six free throws while grabbing six rebounds.

RUTGERS TOP PERFORMER: Bailey showed why he could be a top-5 pick in next summer’s NBA draft and why he was a five-star recruit and the No. 2 prospect in the Class of 2024. He showed the full breadth of his talent in his 30-point performance on 13-of-15 shooting that also featured six rebounds. He made a couple of tough shots and had arguably the most impressive play of the night when he threw down a one-handed slam over Konan Niederhauser. But Bailey got in the Penn State big man’s face and earned a technical, which counted for his fourth personal foul of the night.

LIONS HIGHLIGHT OF THE GAME: With Penn State down by two in the first half, Baldwin stole an inbounds pass and threw the ball at the hoop while getting fouled. The circus shot found the bottom of the net, and Baldwin made the free throw to complete the three-point play. That gave the Nittany Lions their first lead of the game at 21-20.

NOTABLE STAT: Penn State shot 47.6% from three-point range in the game, which marked the Nittany Lions’ second straight game above 40%. Before these past two games, Penn State hadn’t been above 40% since the win over Buffalo on Dec. 1. There was an especially putrid five-game stretch where the Nittany Lions shot only 20% combined.

LINEUP NOTES: With guard/forward Puff Johnson sidelined for the foreseeable future with a right hand injury, Kern joined Baldwin, Dilione, forward Zach Hicks and Konan Niederhauser.

Dunn was the first player off the bench, while forward Kachi Nzeh replaced Konan Niederhauser at the five. Penn State played a couple minutes with both Baldwin and guard Jahvin Carter on the court together in the first half.

Carter never returned to the game, and fellow freshmen Miles Goodman and Dominick Stewart did not play.

Penn State listed Johnson as out for the game after he suffered a right hand injury at Michigan State last week. He was wearing a brace on his right hand and wrist while he watched from the bench.

Forward Hudson Ward remained out and joined guard Eli Rice (season) on the bench.

UP NEXT: Penn State hits the road for a two-game road swing. The Nittany Lions face Iowa (12-6, 3-4) at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Friday night before facing No. 21 Michigan (14-4, 6-1) at the Crisler Center on Monday night. The matchup with the Hawkeyes is scheduled to tip at 9 p.m. ET on FS1 from Iowa City, while the game with the Wolverines in Ann Arbor is a 6:30 p.m. ET tip on Big Ten Network.

Daniel Gallen covers Penn State for Lions247 and 247Sports. He can be reached at daniel.gallen@paramount.com. Follow Daniel on X at @danieljtgallen, Instagram at @bydanieljtgallen and Bluesky at @danieljtgallen.bsky.social.