Nick Kern Jr.’s double-double leads Penn State to victory over Fordham, historic 6-0 start

Nick Kern. Photo by Jake Musmanno | Continuing condition

Penn State’s Nick Kern Jr. gave it his all in the Nittany Lions’ 85-66 win over Fordham on Monday, recording 20 points and 13 rebounds for his first career double-double to propel the Nittany Lions to the Sunshine Slam championship game Tuesday to lead. The Nittany Lions will face the winner of San Francisco and Clemson for the tournament title in Daytona Beach, Florida.

“Nick Kern is just a badass guy, man. That’s the best way to explain it,” coach Mike Rhoades told Penn State Sports Network after the game. “He listens, he’s coachable, but he’s just tough in competition and you saw that today. His rushing to the rim, his defense, his rebounding, the way he guarded the ball.”

Zach Hicks also scored 16 points and Puff Johnson added 15 points, while Yanic Konan Niederhauser and Ace Baldwin Jr. each added 12 points, leading Penn State to score at least 80 points for the sixth straight year for the first time in program history. The Nittany Lions are now 6-0 for the first time since the 1999-2000 season.

“I thought he made a couple plays and guys found him for a couple threes, and then I thought he did a good job of getting downhill,” Rhoades said of Johnson. “So we need him and Zach to recover more. But I thought Puff was just playing with more confidence than ever and I’m just really proud of him.”

It was a game in which Penn State faced some adversity caused by a Rams team that managed seven straight shot attempts at one point. Nonetheless, the Nittany Lions’ strong offense could not be slowed down, despite a tough night from leading scorer Ace Baldwin Jr. that gave him 12 points on 2-for-8 shooting from the field and four turnovers.

Penn State still shot at 53%, making 5 of 14 3-point attempts and scoring 15 points off 14 turnovers. The Nittany Lions also won the rebound battle 38-30. They were helped significantly by a Fordham team that made just 10 of 20 attempts from the free throw line.

Jackie Johnson III and Josh Rivera each scored 15 points to lead the Rams, led by former Penn State assistant coach Keith Urgo.

INJURIES

Four-star freshman forward Miles Goodman missed his sixth straight game. Rhoades said last week that Goodman’s absence was merely “protocol.” … Nebraska transfer Eli Rice missed a second straight game with what Rhoades called a “recurring” injury.