PHILADELPHIA – Penn State freshman guard Melih Tunca was 8-for-9 from the field and 4-for-4 from 3-point range to tally a game-high 20 points and lead the Nittany Lions to an 83-69 win over La Salle Saturday afternoon inside Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia.
Penn State moves to 4-0 on the season with the neutral site victory inside of the home of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers. The Nittany Lions used a 20-0 run midway through the first half to find the separation they would need and never looked back as Penn State picked up its second double-digit victory of the year. PSU shot 57.9 percent (33-57) from the field and 50.0 percent (10-20) from deep. The Nittany Lions showed off their depth once again, tallying 40 bench points in the win. PSU had 21 assists on 33 made baskets with just seven turnovers.
Tunca went off for a career-best 20 points behind an 8-for-9 showing from the field (88.9%) and 4-for-4 effort from downtown (100%). He added four assists in his stellar performance. Freddie Dilione V tallied 16 points, three rebounds and three assists. Freshman Kayden Mingo followed with 14 points, a career-best seven assists and four rebounds. Ivan Jurić rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11 points and a career-high six rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Explorers scored the first five points of the game, but Penn State answered with the next seven as a Melih Tunca 3-pointer, pair of Josh Reed free throws and Freddie Dilione V driving layup gave the Nittany Lions a 7-5 lead at the first media timeout. The Penn State defense forced four La Salle turnovers in the Explorers’ first seven possessions of the game.
- La Salle was back ahead by three at 12-9 before seven points from Tunca, six from Dominick Stewart, four from Ivan Jurić and baskets from two other Nittany Lions fueled a dominant 20-0 Penn State run over a 4:44 stretch. Penn State was 8-for-9 from the floor during the streak while the Explorers went 0-for-6 with three turnovers and Penn State surged ahead to take a 29-12 lead at the 8:15 mark.
- Scoring evened out for the remainder of the half as the Nittany Lions wrapped up the term shooting 55.2 percent (16-29) from the field and 66.7 percent (6-9) from 3-point range to take a 42-29 advantage into halftime.
- Kayden Mingo scored six of Penn State’s first 10 points of the second half as the Nittany Lions worked their lead to 52-36 at the first media timeout of the second stanza.
- Penn State’s lead fluctuated in the low to mid teens until the Nittany Lions drilled three triples in a 2:29 stretch to fuel an 11-2 run that stretched PSU’s edge to 21 at 70-49 with 9:00 to play.
- The Explorers slowly chipped away and eventually pulled within 10 at 77-67 with 2:14 left, but a Tunca driving layup and back-to-back Dilione V buckets quickly halted the La Salle momentum before Penn State walked away with the 83-69 win.
GAME NOTES
- The Nittany Lions are off to a 4-0 start to the season for the fourth-straight year and fifth time in the last seven seasons.
- Penn State tallied season-high marks in FG% (57.9%), 3FG% (50.0%) and assists (21).
- The Nittany Lions started the game 5-for-5 from 3-point range and didn’t miss a triple until the 4:59 mark of the first half.
- Melih Tunca is the first Nittany Lion to tally a 20-point game this season, finishing with 20 points behind an 8-for-8 showing from the field and 4-for-4 effort from three-point range.
- Freddie Dilione V scored in double figures for the third-straight game with his 16 points, three rebounds and three assists.
- Kayden Mingo dished a career-best seven assists to go along with 14 points and four rebounds.
- Both Tunca and Mingo have scored in double figures in every game this season
- Ivan Jurić finished with a career-best six rebounds to go along with 11 points.
UP NEXT
- The Nittany Lions return home Wednesday night to host Harvard in a 6:30 p.m. tipoff inside the Bryce Jordan Center.