Penn State men’s basketball’s highest-rated recruit in history just had his first signature performance with the program.

Kayden Mingo led the Nittany Lions to an 84-80 barn burner win over the Harvard Crimson in the Bryce Jordan Center on Wednesday night.

Mingo’s game speaks for itself. He’s fast, knows how to drive through the lane, has vision, and his teammates and Mike Rhoades constantly talk up his maturity for such a young player. The one thing Mingo’s struggled with through his first five college basketball games has been his three-point shooting.

Mingo started 0-6 from deep against Harvard, a season-worst. He went 0-2 against Fairfield, 2-5 at New Haven, 0-3 against Navy, and 1-5 at La Salle. Even as he consistently bodied his way through Crimson defenders for clutch scores and free throws, the triple simply wasn’t falling for him.

He didn’t pierce the veil until 6:29 remaining in the contest, where he finally drilled it from near the top of the key. His shot handed Penn State a 64-67 advantage. Harvard never retook the lead.

“I would say confidently and humbly, I’m a better shooter than the numbers have shown early on. So, I always have the confidence to shoot the next shot,” Mingo said. “Guys like [Josh] Reed and the rest of my teammates always have confidence in me. They tell me, ‘shoot,’ sometimes when I don’t even think I’m open.”

Rhoades has been vocal through Penn State’s opening games that he wants the squad’s three-point volume in the high 20’s and even over 30 in certain games. The Nittany Lions mustered 19 shots from deep against the Crimson, only sinking five. Harvard shot 12-27 from downtown.

Yet, the Nittany Lions still found a way to win. Penn State kept the ball alive through the paint and played gritty defense. Melih Tunca and Josh Reed both showcased their claws, ending their nights with three steals each. Tunca had a big coast-to-coast score off of an intercepted ball with just under five minutes left in the game that pumped up the Bryce Jordan Center crowd.

Penn State worked Harvard into the bonus in both halves, leading to a lot of free throws. Despite the free throw shooting presenting itself as a separate problem, Penn State’s main takeaway is it was able to control the paint and the foul game. When the three ball isn’t falling, the Nittany Lions have to adapt and find different ways to win, especially as a young team. Mingo’s performance showcases some of that growth so far this season.

“It’s great. Just played off of him, his leadership out there and his ability to score but also make plays for others, it really helps our team,” Reed said postgame. “You could see that tonight. He’s just one of those guys where he just has that kind of maturity at such a young age. It’s rare to see, but it’s definitely going to help us this year for sure.”

Rhoades isn’t worried in the slightest about Mingo’s early struggles from the three-point line. It’s all a part of adjusting to the next level of basketball, and Rhoades knows Mingo will settle himself in.

“He doesn’t catch feelings in a negative way, in a selfish way. It’s ‘I gotta do this to help my team win.’ He’s about the right stuff,” Rhoades said. “I just think he’s an attack-mode kid. Keep attacking, keep playing. That three he made, I mean, it looked beautiful, came off his hand the right way. So, he’s going to make big shots for us for his career here. He already has.”