UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Energized by a powerful performance on the defensive end by freshman guard Kayden Mingo, the Penn State men’s basketball team cruised to a dominant 90-59 victory over the Sacred Heart Pioneers on Saturday night inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
Mingo tied the Nittany Lions’ single-game steals record on Saturday night, finishing with eight steals to mark the first performance of that nature in Happy Valley since program alum Ace Baldwin Jr. had eight against Northwestern on January 10, 2024. Mingo’s leadership on the defensive end helped force 24 turnovers by the Pioneers, the most TO’s forced by the Penn State defense since causing 24 against Purdue on December 5 of last year. Penn State’s defense helped spark a dominant night in transition, outscoring SHU by a 34-14 differential in terms of points off turnovers in addition to an eye-popping 21-6 margin in transition scoring.
Mingo led five Nittany Lion double-digit scorers in PSU’s most decisive victory of the year to date, with the rookie tallying 13 points on 5-for-9 shooting from the floor in addition to a game-high-tying five assists. Freshman forward Ivan Jurić led the Blue & White in scoring for the first time this season, notching 14 points with a game-high nine rebounds. Jurić becomes the sixth different Penn Stater to lead the Nittany Lions in scoring this year, with no student-athlete logging more than two games atop the box score this season. Freshman guard Melih Tunca cracked double digits for the eighth-straight game with 12 points, redshirt sophomore guard Eli Rice contributed 11 and redshirt junior guard Freddie Dilione V rounded out the double-digit quintet with 10 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Jurić came away with the opening tipoff, but early giveaways saw the opening score remain knotted at zeroes over a minute into the contest. Jurić earned a trip to the line and split the opportunities to mark the first point of the game, but the Pioneers sank a right-wing triple moments later to take an early 3-1 lead. Mingo weaved through traffic the next trip down and utilized a crafty finish to tie the game, and Dominick Stewart split a pair of foul shots to give PSU a 4-3 lead.
- SHU took the lead once again with a 3-pointer, but back-to-back scores put the Nittany Lions back in front. The Pioneers continued their solid start from long range with another make, but the Blue & White engaged in an 8-0 scoring run capped off by a coast-to-coast steal-and-score from Mingo to make it a 16-9 game with less than 12 to play in the first. Buckets fell both ways in the ensuing moments, but stifling defense on one end and relentless speed in transition gave the Blue & White their first double-digit lead of the night at 23-13 with 8:47 to go in the frame.
- Defensive pressure from Penn State forced multiple giveaways from the Pioneers, and despite solid effort from SHU to pull back within single digits, a rapid response from Tunca preserved the Nittany Lion edge at 25-15. Out of a media timeout, Tunca continued his impressive individual effort with a merciless block of a mid-range SHU shot attempt, setting the tone for an emphatic 9-0 Nittany Lion scoring run that resulted in a domineering 32-15 advantage with 4:45 to go in the half.
- Penn State answered a deep 3-pointer from the Pioneers with a decisive 6-0 scoring run that featured a pair of baskets in transition from Josh Reed to drive the Nittany Lion lead to 20 points at 38-18. The Blue & White continued to push the pace as the half wound down, with Rice making it a 9-0 PSU run with a left-corner 3-pointer on a find from Mingo. Penn State’s offensive momentum continued to roll on thanks to turnovers forced by the defense, with PSU ultimately able to close the half out on a 15-2 run to take a 47-20 lead at the intermission.
- The Nittany Lions wasted little time picking up where they left off to start the second half, with back-to-back paint baskets from Jurić making int a 31-point affair. Despite a 5-0 reply from the Pioneers, Mingo silenced the Sacred Heart run with a left-wing 3-pointer. Sacred Heart was able to pull back within 24 points of the Nittany Lion advantage following a 10-3 scoring run, but a mid-range tally from Rice and breakaway and-one layup from Tunca kept the Blue & White firmly in control.
- A bucket down low from Tibor Mirtič ballooned the PSU edge back to 30 points and kickstarted an eye-popping 13-0 scoring run that was capped off by a straight-away triple from Rice. The 3-pointer guaranteed Penn State a 67-33 edge with 11:14 to play in the contest, with PSU drilling 5-of-7 field goal attempts in that four-minute span.
- Sacred Heart managed to temporarily stop the bleeding with their sixth 3-point make on the evening, but a split trip to the line followed by back-to-back putbacks from Jurić and Reed saw the Nittany Lions rattle off a 5-0 response. The squads played the free throw game over the next couple of minutes, but Sacred Heart was able to continue its efficient shooting performance from deep with three triples in a three-minute span. PSU was able to maintain its significant lead, however, wielding an 81-47 lead with less than five minutes to go.
- Penn State looked to close Saturday night’s matchup out on a high note offensively, with Stewart drilling a 3-pointer from the right wing with a hand in his face followed by a Reed bucket to mark a 5-0 scoring run just before the final media break of the night. SHU showed some fight down the stretch, rattling off a 10-0 response, but the Blue & White were ultimately able to close out the 90-59 result inside the BJC on Saturday.
GAME NOTES
- Freshman guard Kayden Mingo tied the Penn State program record for steals in a game, finishing with eight to match the record set by a trio of Nittany Lions all-time. The last Penn Stater to finish with at least eight steals in a game was Ace Baldwin Jr. on January 10, 2024, against the Northwestern Wildcats.
- The rookie from Farmingdale, New York, additionally turned in his seventh double-digit scoring performance in the first eight games of the 2025-26 season as well as his second consecutive. Mingo logged 13 points on 5-for-9 efficiency in addition to five assists to lead the Nittany Lions. The rookie led PSU in assists for the fifth time through the team’s first eight contests of the season and had five assists or more for the third time in 2025-26.
- Freshman forward Ivan Jurić contributed a team-high 14 points in addition to a game-high nine rebounds in the win. The Zagreb, Croatia, native cracked double digits in the scoring column for the fourth time in his collegiate career in addition to his second such performance.
- Jurić led the Blue & White in scoring for the first time this season and became the sixth different player to lead the team in scoring this year. He also paced the Nittany Lions in rebounds for the third time.
- Freshman guard Melih Tunca was a force on both ends of the floor in the Nittany Lion win, with the Istanbul, Türkiye, native mustering 12 points on 4-for-6 shooting with four assists, four rebounds and a career-high pair of blocks. Tunca was a double-digit performer for the eighth time in as many opportunities, leading PSU in double-digit scoring performances this season.
- Redshirt sophomore guard Eli Rice scored in double figures for the third time this season and second consecutive, logging 11 points with 3-for-4 shooting from 3-point range.
- Redshirt junior guard Freddie Dilione V mustered his sixth double-digit outing in the last seven games, dropping 10 points on 4-for-7 shooting with a season-high three steals.
- Freshman forward Justin Houser notched his first collegiate points with a pair of makes at the free throw line at the 1:09 mark of the second half.
- Following Saturday night’s action in Happy Valley, Penn State improved to 7-1 through eight games for the second year in a row under the direction of third-year Peter & Ann Tombros endowed Head Coach Mike Rhoades. Sacred Heart fell to 2-5 overall through Saturday’s contest in Happy Valley.
- Penn State met SHU in men’s basketball for the fourth time in each program’s respective histories on Saturday, with the Blue & White extending their all-time lead to 4-0 since the inaugural contest in 2004.
- Penn State saw five student-athletes reach double figures for the second game in a row, with Jurić (14), Mingo (13), Tunca (12), Rice (11) and Dilione V (10) accomplishing that feat. Prior to Tuesday’s game against Boston University, PSU had not placed five scorers in double figures since the team tallied 99 points against Coppin State on December 14, 2024.
- The Nittany Lions scored 90 points or more for the second game in a row following a 96-point outing against the Boston University Terriers earlier this week. PSU achieved consecutive 90-plus-point scoring efforts for the first time since crossing that threshold thrice consecutively to open the 2024-25 season against Binghamton (108), UMBC (103) and Saint Francis (92).
- PSU has cracked the 80-point threshold as a team in six of the last seven games.
- Penn State forced a season-high 24 turnovers, the most turnovers forced by the Penn State defense since causing 24 against Purdue on December 5 of last year.
- The Nittany Lions called on the starting lineup of Jurić, Mingo, Stewart, Tunca and Reed for the first time this season, rising to 1-0 when doing so.
UP NEXT
- The Nittany Lions close out their three-game homestand Tuesday night when Penn State welcomes Campbell to the Bryce Jordan Center for a 6 p.m. tipoff on Big Ten Network.