UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men’s basketball team made big plays down the stretch to close out an 84-80 win over Harvard and move to 5-0 on the season Wednesday night inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
The game saw 11 lead changes and eight tie scores, with neither team holding more than a two-possession lead in the second half. The Nittany Lions came up clutch in the final minutes, emerging from a 70-70 tie with 4:56 to play to secure the 84-80 win. The Nittany Lions owned the game down low, outscoring Harvard 50-32 inside the painted area. The turnover margin proved to be key as Penn State forced 13 mishaps to only seven of their own. The Blue & White outscored the Crimson 19-4 in points off turnovers.
Freshman Kayden Mingo went off for a career-high 24 points, 18 of which came in the second half. He added three assists, two rebounds and a steal in his clutch performance. Senior Josh Reed followed with 14 points, five rebounds and three steals. Redshirt juior Freddie Dilione V tallied 13 points, while freshman Melih Tunca contributed 10 points, a team-high six assists and three steals. On the glass, freshman forward Ivan Jurić hauled in nine rebounds to lead the team as well as making all three of his field goal attempts in a seven-point outing.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Nittany Lions used an early 9-2 run that was capped off by an Ivan Jurić triple at the 15:36 mark to take an early 11-7 lead at the first media timeout.
- A Dominick Stewart 3-pointer and back-to-back Freddie Dilione V buckets comprised a 7-0 Penn State stretch that extended the Penn State lead to 22-12 as the first-half clock hit 11:20.
- The Crimson heated up offensively over the next six minutes to answer with a 20-6 run that put Harvard in front 32-28 with 5:18 left in the first half.
- The Penn State defense stepped up to keep Harvard scoreless for the next three minutes and the Nittany Lions were able to knot the score at 32-32 following a pair of Kayden Mingo free throws and a Dilione V jumper.
- The Crimson canned a pair of 3-pointers in the final 2:12 of the half to take a slim 38-35 advantage into halftime.
- The Nittany Lions started the second half 4-for-5 from the floor and an Eli Rice corner triple at 17:45 forced a Harvard timeout and pushed Penn State ahead 44-40.
- Penn State stretched the streak to 11-2 following a Josh Reed layup out of the timeout and the Nittany Lion defense kept Harvard off the board for a 2:55 stretch as the Nittany Lion lead reached 46-40 four minutes into the second term.
- Harvard used a quick 7-0 spurt over a 1:12 stretch to reclaim the lead at 51-50 at 13:26.
- The next six minutes saw five lead changes and four tie scores as the teams traded blows. Mingo scored all nine of Penn State’s points from 8:48 to 6:29, putting the Nittany Lions up 67-64.
- The score was tied once again at 70-70 as the clock wound under 5:00. Penn State held a 76-74 edge before Mingo hit his 22nd point of the night at 1:12 to pad the Nittany Lion advantage to 78-74.
- Harvard hit a long two-pointer on its next possession putting the score at 78-76 with 58.7 seconds left. Tunca followed with a layup to make it 80-76 Penn State with 38 seconds to play.
- The Crimson missed a 3-pointer on their ensuing possession and were forced to foul. Mingo made two free throws, but Harvard drilled a triple and drew a foul at the 14.2 second mark to pull within two at 82-80.
- Dilione V hit a pair of big free throws with 10.6 seconds to play and the Crimson missed a last-second shot as Penn State held on to secure the 84-80 victory.
GAME NOTES
- The Nittany Lions start the season 5-0 for the second-straight year.
- Penn State has won each of the last 12 non-conference home games played in the Bryce Jordan Center.
- The Nittany Lions are now 16-1 in non-conference home games under the direction of third-year head coach Mike Rhoades.
- Penn State moves to 2-1 all-time against Harvard. Wednesday’s matchup was the first at the Bryce Jordan Center.
- Kayden Mingo scored a career-best 24 points, besting his previous collegiate best of 16 that was set against New Haven and Navy.
- Freshman forward Ivan Jurić led the way on the glass, bringing down nine rebounds and posting seven points to go along with his defensive performance.
- Senior forward Josh Reed was a key factor defensively with three steals, tied for the Penn State lead. He also tallied 14 points and five rebounds.
- Freshman guard Melih Tunca led Penn State in assists with six. He stuffed the stat sheet with 10 points, two rebounds, and three steals.
- Redshirt junior guard Freddie Dilione V posted 13 points, two rebounds and two assists.
- Penn State owned a 24-13 edge in bench points.
- The Nittany Lions forced 13 Crimson turnovers while committing just seven of their own. The Nittany Lions outscored Harvard 19-4 in points off turnovers.
- The Nittany Lions had a strong defensive showing in the passing lanes with nine steals compared to four by the Crimson.
- Penn State had a strong showing on the glass offensively, with 13 offensive rebounds compared to the nine by Harvard. The Nittany Lions also won the total rebound battle 28-25.
UP NEXT
- Penn State heads to Uncasville, Ct. to take part in the Hall of Fame Showcase on Saturday when the Nittany Lions face Providence inside Mohegan Sun Arena at 4 p.m. The game will be nationally televised on truTV.