D’Marco Dunn scored a career-best 25 points on 10-of-12 shooting from the floor and Penn State closed its season with a stunning 86-75 upset of No. 12 Wisconsin in Big Ten play Saturday afternoon at Madison, Wis.
Yanic Konan Niederhauser produced 15 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots as Penn State (16-15, 6-14 Big Ten) snapped a 23-road game losing streak against the Badgers. The Nittany Lions’ previous victory at Wisconsin was a 78-67 triumph on Jan. 26, 1995.
Zach Hicks had 14 points and seven rebounds for Penn State, which didn’t qualify for the upcoming Big Ten tournament. Nick Kern and Freddie Dilione V added 12 points apiece and Ace Baldwin Jr. had nine assists and three steals for the Nittany Lions.
Steven Crowl and John Blackwell each scored 19 points for Wisconsin (23-8, 13-7), which blew a 13-point lead and missed a chance to clinch a double bye in the Big Ten tourney.
Jon Tonje added 13 points and seven rebounds but was just 2 of 13 from the field for the Badgers. Kamari McGee had 11 points for Wisconsin.
Penn State shot 56.4 percent from the field — including 60 percent in the second half — and made a stellar 11 of 19 3-point attempts.
Wisconsin made 36.2 percent of its shots, including 10 of 31 from behind the arc. The Badgers shot just 28.6 percent from the field in the second half.
Penn State trailed 40-27 late in the first half before scoring 18 of the next 23 points to tie the score at 45 on Dilione’s trey early in the second half.
The Nittany Lions took their first lead at 48-47 on Baldwin’s three-point play with 16:34 left.
The score was tied at 51 before Dunn’s basket and two straight hoops by Kern gave Penn State a 57-51 lead with 11:18 remaining.
The Badgers answered with a 9-2 run to take a 60-59 edge with 8:52 left on Blackwell’s short basket.
Penn State responded with a 10-2 push. Dunn capped it with a turnaround to give the Nittany Lions a 69-62 lead with 5:33 left.
Blackwell scored five straight points for Wisconsin to cut its deficit to two. But Dunn drained a trey to start an 11-4 push as Penn State took an 80-71 lead with under a minute to play.
Two free throws by Hicks pushed the lead to 11 with 18.9 seconds as Penn State closed it out.
McGee scored 10 first-half points as Wisconsin held a 40-35 halftime advantage.
