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Nov. 3, 2017
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State men's basketball team travels to Lafayette Saturday, Nov. 4, for its first exhibition game of the 2017-18 season. The game tips off at 1 p.m. in Easton, Pa., and all ticket and concessions sales benefit One America Appeal. Doors at the Kirby Center open at noon and all tickets are general admission.
Both the Penn State and Lafayette programs have ties to areas affected by Hurricane Harvey as sophomore guards Grant Hazle of Penn State and Hunter Janacek of Lafayette both hail from the Houston area.
A $5 donation is required for students and a $10 donation for all other fans. Tickets are available for purchase through the Kirby Sports Center ticket office or online at GoLeopardsTickets.com.
All proceeds from the exhibition game at Lafayette will go to One America Appeal, a joint initiative originally launched by all five living former American Presidents to encourage fellow citizens to support recovery efforts from Hurricane Harvey. The appeal has since been expanded to include areas most affected by Hurricanes Irma and Maria.
Coach Patrick Chambers begins his seventh season at the helm of the Penn State program and ninth year overall as a head coach. Penn State holds a 12-4 advantage in games played in the series. The last time Penn State and Lafayette met was Dec. 7, 2011, with the Leopards coming away with a 61-57 win at the Bryce Jordan Center. In games in Easton, Penn State is 3-1.
The game in the Lehigh Valley is a homecoming of sorts for half of the Nittany Lion roster. With the addition of freshman John Harrar from Wallingford, seven Nittany Lions hail from the Philadelphia area. Nazeer Bostick, Tony Carr, Shep Garner and Lamar Stevens represent Roman Catholic High School. Mike Watkins is from The Phelps School and Julian Moore is from Germantown Academy.
Five of the six top scorers from a year ago return for Penn State in 2017-18, accounting for nearly 80 percent of the team's total points last season. The 2016-17 freshmen trio of Carr (13.2 ppg), Stevens (12.7 ppg) and Watkins (7.7 ppg) contributed nearly half of the points.
The Nittany Lions return to the Bryce Jordan Center at noon on Sunday, Nov. 5 for their second and final exhibition game against Bloomsburg. The 2017-18 regular season opener is slated for Friday, Nov. 10 against Campbell with a 4 p.m. tip time to start Penn State's homecoming weekend activities.
Season tickets are available for all 19 games at the Bryce Jordan Center with 18 home events and Sunday's exhibition game against Bloomsburg at noon on Sunday, November 5. Deposits for new 2017-18 Penn State men's basketball season tickets can be made by calling 1-800-NITTANY weekdays, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Eastern time, at the Athletic Ticket Office in the Bryce Jordan Center from 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. weekdays, or by visiting gopsusports.com/tickets/m-baskbl-tickets.html.
Keep up to date with the latest information from Coach Chambers and the Nittany Lions on Twitter by following @Coach_Chambers and @PennStateMBB, on Facebook and Instagram at @PennStateMBB.