Nittany Lions Host In-State Foe Lehigh Friday Night

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Fresh off a dominant season-opening win Monday night, the Penn State men's basketball team returns to action Friday night when the Nittany Lions host Lehigh at 7:30 p.m.
 
FOLLOW ALONG

• TICKETS: Tickets

  • Friday's game will be the backend of a Penn State women's basketball-men's basketball doubleheader, with tickets for the women's game being valid for admission the men's game and tickets for the men's game being valid for admission for the women's game that tips off at 5 p.m. against Navy.
• PROMOTIONS: Military Appreciation Night
• VIDEO: B1G+ - Brian Tripp (pxp) & Myles Dread (analyst)
• RADIO: Penn State Sports Network – Steve Jones (pxp) & Dick Jerardi (analyst)
• NATIONAL RADIO: SiriusXM Ch. 389 | SXM App Ch. 979
• LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast | Live Stats
• GAME NOTES: Penn State | Lehigh

 
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

• PARKING: Parking for all athletic events requires a valid university permit or payment of an applicable parking fee. Parking can be purchased in advance by 11:59 p.m. the day prior to each game using Prepaid ParkMobile for $5.50, or can be purchased on game day for $10. Parking for men's basketball can be found at Jordan East, Stadium West, or Porter North lots.
• MOBILE TICKETING: All Penn State Athletics tickets are once again mobile tickets.  Fans can access Penn State Athletics mobile ticket guide at GoPSUsports.com/mobiletickets. Make sure to have the updated Penn State Athletics App downloaded on your phone to easily access and manage your mobile tickets. Download the app on the App Store and Google Play.
• CLEAR BAG POLICY: The Bryce Jordan Center has a clear bag policy. Bags that are clear plastic, vinyl or PVB and are 12" x 6" x 12" or smaller are permitted. Small clutches or wristlets that are 4" x 6" x 1" are also permissible, as well as one-gallon clear plastic freezer bags. All clear bags and patrons are subject to metal detection and/or bag inspection upon entering the venue. Bag policy details can be found here.

 
OPENING TIPS

• The Nittany Lions play the second contest of a season-opening four-game homestand Friday night when Penn State welcomes in-state foe Lehigh to the BJC.
• Penn State opened the 2023-24 season with a dominant 79-45 win over Delaware State Monday night. The Nittany Lions shot 49.1 percent from the field and made 12 3-pointers in the balanced offensive attack, while the Penn State defense forced 23 DSU turnovers and held the Hornets to a 28.8% shooting percentage.
• Sophomores Kanye Clary (22 points, 7 rebounds) and Jameel Brown (20 points, 6-8 3FG) led the way for Penn State in Monday's season opener.

 
SCOUTING LEHIGH

• The Mountain Hawks are 0-1 on the young season after suffering an 84-78 home loss to Cornell on Monday night in Lehigh's season opener.
• Lehigh held a five-point halftime lead against the Big Red Monday night after shooting 52.9% from the field in the opening term, but the Mountain Hawks shot just 35.3% from the floor and 8.3% from 3-point range in the second half of the loss.
• Tyler Whitney-Sidney led Lehigh with 23 points in Monday's season opener.
• Lehigh was picked to finish second in the Patriot League this season. The Mountain Hawks finished the 2022-23 slate at 16-14 overall and 11-7 in conference play. 

 
AGAINST THE MOUNTAIN HAWKS

• Penn State and Lehigh meet for the 43rd time in program history and the first time since 2010 Friday night.
• The longtime series against in-state foe Lehigh dates back to 1902 when Penn State earned a 39-24 home win over the Mountain Hawks.
• The Nittany Lions are 31-11 all-time against Lehigh, including a 21-1 mark when playing in Happy Valley.
• Penn State has won each of the last nine meetings between the two programs and hasn't lost to Lehigh since 1987.

 
HOT START

• The Nittany Lions kicked off the Mike Rhoades era with a dominant 79-45 win over Delaware State Monday night.
• In a wire-to-wire win, Penn State earned the 34-point victory by way of a 49.1 percent field goal percentage and 12 made 3-pointers. The Penn State defense forced 23 Delaware State turnovers and held the Hornets to a 28.8 percent clip from the field.
• Penn State was led by the sophomore duo of Kanye Clary (22 points) and Jameel Brown (20 points) who both posted career-best marks on opening night of the 2023-24 season. Brown drained six triples and Clary added seven boards in the duo's strong overall night. Qudus Wahab snagged 13 rebounds and added seven points in his first game as a Nittany Lion, while Zach Hicks rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 points.

 
HAPPY VALLEY HAVOC

• The Penn State defense shined in Monday's season opener. The Nittany Lions held Delaware State to a 28.8 FG%, Penn State's first time holding an opponent to under 30% shooting since the Nittany Lions held Wake Forest to a 29.3% clip on Dec. 4, 2019.
• Penn State forced 23 Delaware State turnovers, marking the first time the Nittany Lions have forced 20-plus turnovers since Nov. 14, 2019 (at Georgetown, 20 turnovers).

 
FUTURE SURE LOOKS BRIGHT

• Mike Rhoades and his Penn State staff signed the 31st-ranked recruiting class in the nation (per Rivals) Wednesday on National Signing Day.

  • Jahvin Carter - 6-3 Guard - Alcoa, Tenn. - Alcoa High School
    • Ranked as No. 2 player in state of Tennessee. 2,000-point scorer who led Alcoa High School to first state championship in 56 years as tournament MVP.
  • Miles Goodman - 6-11 Forward - Seattle, Wash. - SoCal Academy
    • Second-highest ranked signee in program history. Rivals Top-100 prospect.
  • Dominick Stewart - 6-5 Guard - Ocean Springs, Miss. - SoCal Academy
    • Sharpshooter that ranks as a top-35 combo guard in the 2024 class. Earned All-Breakout Team honors at 2023 Peach Jam.

 
ALL RHOADES LEAD TO HAPPY VALLEY

• Mike Rhoades was announced as the 15th men's basketball head coach in Penn State history on March 29, 2023.
• Rhoades came to Penn State following a six-year stint as the head coach at VCU in which he guided the Rams to three NCAA Tournament appearances, a 129-60 overall record and 72-32 Atlantic 10 Conference record.
• In 19 seasons as a collegiate head coach, Rhoades, a Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania native, has produced a 373-189 record, a winning percentage of .664, seven NCAA Tournament appearances and nine national postseason appearances.

 
LIONS IN THE LEAGUE

• Penn State is well-represented on 2023-24 NBA rosters. Three Nittany Lion alumni are on NBA rosters, while two others are in the front office and coaching ranks:
  • Lamar Stevens '20 - Boston Celtics - Fourth season in NBA
    • Signed with Boston in September after 3 seasons with Cleveland
  • Jalen Pickett '23 - Denver Nuggets - Rookie season
    • Drafted as No. 32 overall pick by Nuggets in 2023 NBA Draft
  • Seth Lundy '23 - Atlanta Hawks - Rookie season
    • Drafted as No. 46 overall pick by Hawks in 2023 NBA Draft
  • Calvin Booth '98 - General Manager - Denver Nuggets
    • Front office mastermind behind Denver's first title run in franchise history in 2023
  • Andrew Jones '11 - Assistant Coach - Toronto Raptors
    • First season with Raptors after previous stops with Pistons, 76ers
• The Nittany Lions also currently have four players on NBA G League training camp rosters:
  • Andrew Funk M'23 - Grand Rapids Gold - Affiliate of Denver Nuggets
  • Josh Reaves '19 - Rio Grand Valley Vipers - Affiliate of Houston Rockets
  • Mike Watkins '20 - Delaware Blue Coats - Affiliate of Philadelphia 76ers
  • Jamari Wheeler '21 - Grand Rapids Gold - Affiliate of Denver Nuggets

 
UP NEXT

• The Nittany Lions remain home to host local foe St. Francis (Pa.) Tuesday night at 7 p.m. on Big Ten Network.

 
The 2023-24 Penn State men's basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.