UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Driven by a balanced offensive effort that saw five student-athletes crack double figures in scoring, the Penn State men’s basketball team rolled to a 90-67 win over North Carolina Central in the non-conference finale on Monday afternoon inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
The Blue & White utilized an all-around team effort to close out the 2025 calendar year with a victory, placing five student-athletes in double figures for the second time this season. PSU’s last instance of five double-digit scorers came on November 29 against Sacred Heart, a 90-59 win inside the Jordan Center. The Nittany Lions notched their 16th consecutive non-conference home victory and improved to 20-1 in non-conference matchups under the direction of third-year head coach Mike Rhoades. All 12 available Penn State student-athletes saw the floor in Monday’s matchup, with 10 of those players booking at least two points in the win.
Freshman guard Kayden Mingo finished as the game’s leading scorer with 19 points on 8-for-12 shooting from the field with a trio of makes from beyond the arc, also pouring in six steals and a game-high-tying five assists. Redshirt sophomore guard Eli Rice poured in 18 points, sophomore guard Dominick Stewart contributed 11, and redshirt junior guard Freddie Dilione V and freshman guard Melih Tunca both finished with 10 points apiece.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Ivan Jurić came away with the opening tip, but NCCU booked the game’s first points moments later with a hook shot in the paint. Dilione V immediately answered back with a left-wing triple to give Penn State its first lead of the game, but N.C. Central rattled off a 7-0 scoring run to take an early 9-3 advantage. Mingo hit a 3-pointer from straight-on moments later to make it a 9-6 ball game just over four minutes into Monday’s action. NCCU connected on four consecutive buckets on the other side of the media timeout to make it a 17-6 lead for the Eagles with under 13 minutes to play in the first.
- Following the game’s second media break, Dilione V hit a jumper in the paint to halt the Eagle momentum, and tremendous full-court pressure from Mingo paved the way for a 2-for-2 Nittany Lion trip to the stripe moments later. A right-wing 3-pointer from Rice helped punctuate an 8-0 Nittany Lion scoring run, forcing an NCCU timeout with 10:11 to play in the first. A pair of makes at the line from Jurić and a left-wing 3-ball from Rice put the Nittany Lions back in front, and a pair of paint makes from Dilione V and Mingo kept the Nittany Lions ahead to the tune of a 23-19 edge with eight minutes left in the opening frame.
- Rice bookended an Eagle paint jumper with a pair of 3-point baskets, and Mingo connected on a runner to give PSU its largest lead of the game to that point at 31-22. After NCCU notched a quick layup the other way, Stewart logged his first points of the game with a triple from the left corner to make it a 34-24 Nittany Lion lead with 3:57 left in the first. N.C. Central managed a 6-0 response to pull back within four, and despite a mid-range make from Dilione V, the Eagles were able to make it a 3-point affair at the break with a right-corner triple, trailing PSU 36-33 with 20 minutes to play.
- PSU hustled for a steal on the opening possession of the second half, and Mingo cracked double figures in the scoring column with a straight-away triple moments later. Stingy defense from the Nittany Lions set the table for a quick 10-2 scoring run to open the second half of play highlighted by six points from Mingo and additional makes by Josh Reed and Rice.
- The Eagles were able to rattle off a quick 4-0 run thanks to a pair of transition scores, and baskets fell both ways over the ensuing moments, but an and-one by Melih Tunca preserved the double-digit Nittany Lion edge at 51-41 with just over 14 minutes to go. N.C. Central attempted to keep it close with baskets in the paint, but triples from Stewart and Tunca kept the momentum flowing in PSU’s favor.
- Mingo found Reed for a right-wing 3-pointer at the 11:55 mark to make it a 16-point game, and a steal-and-score by Tunca closed the book on an 8-0 Penn State stretch to make it 65-47 at the under-12 timeout. On the other side of the break, Stewart connected on a pair of free throw makes to make it a 10-0 scoring run and 67-47 Nittany Lion edge with just over 10 to play. N.C. Central rattled off a 7-0 scoring run in response, but strong effort driving the paint preserved Penn State’s decisive edge at 75-57 with just over six to go.
- The waning moments of Monday afternoon’s action saw the Blue & White cement their control over the game, with an emphatic late-game run from freshman guard Mason Blackwood highlighting the home stretch. Blackwood’s layup with 11 seconds remaining netted PSU its largest lead of the game at 90-65, with the Nittany Lions able to close the game out for a 90-67 finish in Happy Valley.
GAME NOTES
- Penn State completed the 2025 calendar year with a 9-4 overall record highlighted by a 9-2 mark against non-conference competition. N.C. Central fell to 4-11 overall.
- The Nittany Lions notched their 16th consecutive non-conference home win inside the Bryce Jordan Center and improved to 20-1 in non-conference home matchups under the direction of third-year Peter & Ann Tombros endowed Head Coach Mike Rhoades. PSU is now 7-1 overall in games contested in University Park this season.
- PSU came away with the win in the first all-time meeting between the Nittany Lions and Eagles.
- The Nittany Lions saw five student-athletes record double-digit scoring performances (Mingo, Rice, Stewart, Dilione V, Tunca), marking the second instance of five double-digit performers this season. Penn State saw 10 different student-athletes book at least two points across Monday’s performance, with all 12 available Nittany Lions seeing the floor.
- Penn State crossed the 90-point scoring threshold for the third time this season and hit 90 points or more for the first time since logging a 90-59 win over the Sacred Heart Pioneers on November 29 in Happy Valley.
- The Nittany Lions drilled a season-high 14 triples, finishing the game 14-for-32 (43.8%) from 3-point range.
- Transition scoring made a difference in the final scoreline on Monday, with the Blue & White outpacing their opponent by a 20-6 margin in that statistic. PSU recorded more fastbreak points than its opponent for the 10th time this season and outscored its challenger in transition for the third game in a row.
- Redshirt sophomore guard Eli Rice published the strongest individual performance of his collegiate career, surpassing his career-high scoring mark of 16 set against Florida A&M on November 9, 2023, during his stint at Nebraska. The Gallatin, Tennessee, native recorded 18 points on 5-for-7 shooting from the field and 4-for-6 efficiency from distance.
- Rice cracked double figures for the fourth time this season and mustered his first double-digit outing since pouring in 11 points against Sacred Heart on November 29 of this season. Rice added two defensive rebounds to his final line and finished as a game-high plus-30 in terms of plus/minus.
- Freshman guard Kayden Mingo mustered his 11th double-digit scoring performance this season and first since scoring 11 against Michigan State on December 13. The Farmingdale, New York, native finished with a game-high 19 points on 8-for-12 efficiency with six steals, a game-high-tying five assists and three defensive rebounds. Mingo’s six steals marked the second-most in his collegiate career behind his Penn State single-game record eight-steal performance against Sacred Heart on November 29.
- Mingo paced the Blue & White in scoring for the fourth time this season and finished with a PSU-high assist tally alongside freshman guard teammate Melih Tunca. Mingo has now led PSU in assists on nine occasions, with Tunca joining him atop that statistic for the Nittany Lions four times.
- Sophomore guard Dominick Stewart mustered his second double-digit scoring effort this season with 11 points highlighted by a trio of 3-pointers, while Tunca added his 10th double-digit effort of the season and first since scoring 13 against Indiana on December 9, logging 10 points against the Eagles.
- Redshirt junior guard Freddie Dilione V continued his torrid offensive stretch with his sixth consecutive double-digit scoring effort in addition to his 11th such performance in the 2025-26 campaign. The Fayetteville, North Carolina, native finished with 10 points to round out the quintet of Penn Staters in double figures.
- Junior forward Saša Ciani set a season high in scoring with seven points on 3-for-4 shooting from the field. The Nova Gorica, Slovenia, native added his first 3-point basket as a Nittany Lion and splashed just his fifth 3-ball at the collegiate level in the win. Ciani finished as Penn State’s leading rebounder with a season-best five boards, finishing as the leading Nittany Lion on the glass for the first time in the 2025-26 campaign.
- Penn State utilized the starting lineup of Jurić, Mingo, Dilione V, Reed and Rice for the first time this season, moving to 1-0 when using that starting five. Dilione V made his first start of the 2025-26 season against the Eagles.
UP NEXT
- Penn State returns to the City of Brotherly Love Saturday night when the Nittany Lions host #20 Illinois inside of the historic Palestra. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. and tickets are available for purchase here. The game is presented by the Pennsylvania Auto Theft Prevention Authority.
- Saturday’s game in Philadelphia will be a White Out, presented by MI Windows and Doors. All fans are encouraged to wear white.