Zach Hicks powers Penn State in rout of Binghamton
Zach Hicks led the way with 22 points as Penn State rolled over Binghamton 108-66 in the season opener for both teams Monday in University Park, Pa.
Yanic Konan Niederhauser contributed 16 points for the Nittany Lions (1-0), who have won their season-opening contest in each of the last eight years. Ace Baldwin Jr. (15 points) and D'Marco Dunn (12 points) were also key contributors for Penn State.
Nick Kern led the Nittany Lions with four steals, while Dunn, Baldwin and Hicks swiped three steals apiece.
Evan Ashe paced Binghamton (0-1) with 16 points. Tymu Chenery pitched in 13 points, although he also committed six of the Bearcats' 21 turnovers.
The Nittany Lions, meanwhile, only committed five turnovers.
Penn State led 16-12 early on before the hosts went on an 11-0 run to create some separation.
Dunn began the surge with a 3-pointer before Kern scored six of the next eight points to help the Nittany Lions go ahead 27-12.
Wes Peterson responded with a 3-pointer for the visitors, but the Nittany Lions answered back with a 16-2 run to take command of the contest.
Baldwin knocked down a 3-pointer and registered a three-point play to make it a 20-point game, and then Hicks scored the final four points of the surge to make it 43-17 with 3:47 left in the half.
Konan Niederhauser's two free throws with 18 seconds to play sent Penn State into the locker room with a 54-23 advantage.
The Nittany Lions shot 21 of 25 from the free-throw line in the opening 20 minutes. Meanwhile, the Bearcats committed 14 turnovers in the first half and shot just 9 of 28 (32.1 percent) from the floor.
Early in the second half, back-to-back 3-pointers by Baldwin and Hicks ballooned the lead to 67-30.
Hicks' dunk with about six minutes left sent the advantage north of 40 for the first time. Penn State led by as many as 44 down the stretch.
