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STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- — While Penn State’s Bryce Jordan Center might hold three times as many fans as the program’s rickety old Rec Hall, the nearly 100-year-old facility was at its atmospheric best Wednesday night — at No. 12 Illinois' expense.

Zach Hicks made three free throws after being fouled on a 3-pointer with three seconds left to give Penn State a 90-89 victory over Illinois. After Illinois’ Justin Harmon missed a final layup, fans stormed the court clad in blue and white, shaking pompoms and holding giant cutouts of coach Mike Rhoades’ head.

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Rhoades leapt into bleachers stands to celebrate with family. His players were mobbed by their fans and classmates who reveled in the rare chance to storm Rec Hall’s old court.

“I’ve been doing this for a while, I’m just a super proud coach tonight,” Rhoades said. “I’m just really, really proud of our guys.”

Nick Kern Jr. scored a career-high 22 points, and Hicks and Qudus Wahab added 13 apiece to help Penn State (13-14, 7-9 Big Ten) overcome a 14-point deficit in the second half. The Nittany Lions snapped a three-game losing streak.

Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 19 of his 35 points in the second half for Illinois (19-7, 10-5). Marcus Domask added 15 points. The Illini made mistake after mistake as the second half wore on. They committed 13 of their 18 turnovers in the second and made just 42.9% of their field goals in that span.

The Nittany Lions were able to find their rhythm in spurts and finally sustained it over the final 10 minutes. Kern showed off his scoring ability with a big second half and the Nittany Lions will need more of that from him after leading scorer Kanye Clary was booted off the team this month.

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Gallery Credit: Brian Budzynski