Penn State men’s basketball (7-1, 0-0 Big Ten) handled Sacred Heart (2-5, 0-0 MAAC) with ease Saturday evening at the Bryce Jordan Center.

Ivan Jurić and Kayden Mingo led the way for the Nittany Lions offensively. Jurić had 14 points and nine rebounds, and Mingo added 13 points and five assists. Penn State forced 24 Pioneer turnovers in the win.

How It Happened

Mike Rhoades started Mingo, Melih Tunca, Dominick Stewart, Josh Reed, and Jurić against the Pioneers. Jurić scored the first points of the game, hitting on one of two at the free throw line two minutes into the game. Mingo got on the statsheet a few possessions later with an easy layup, and Penn State and Sacred Heart were tied early.

Tibor Mirtič went behind the back to find Saša Ciani on a beautiful play to extend the Nittany Lions’ lead. Sacred Heart scored its first three buckets from three-point distance to take a 9-8 lead into the first break. Ciani made one of two shots from the line out of the timeout,

Eli Rice entered the game and quickly made his presence known by drilling a transition three-pointer. With under twelve minutes to play, Mingo grabbed a steal and went the other way for two points to force a Pioneer timeout. Dashon Gittens responded with an easy layup for the Pionners on the other end of the court.

Freddie Dilione V used his athleticism in transition to get on the scoreboard a few minutes later. After another Mingo bucket, the Nittany Lions led 23-13 with under eight minutes left in the first half. Tunca came up with a block as the shot clock expired for Sacred Heart’s first possession after a timeout. Stewart made the Pioneers hurt with a transition triple to extend the lead.

Abdou Yadd stopped the Penn State run with a deep three from the top of the key. Out of the final media timeout of the half, Mingo recorded another steal and found Reed in the paint for two more points. Rice hit a corner three, and Penn State led 41-18 after a 22-5 run. Rhoades’ group went into halftime leading 47-20.

Jurić opened the scoring in the second half just as he did in the first, this time with a post move and a two-pointer. Mingo drilled another three-pointer as the Pioneers continued to have no answer for Penn State’s offense. The Nittany Lions lead 54-25 with 16:54 left in the second half.

Nyle Ralph-Beyer knocked down a three from the corner for Sacred Heart, and Rhoades called a timeout to regroup his defensive unit. Out of the stoppage of play, Mirtič and Tunca both hit field goals to get the Nittany Lions back on track. Dilione forced a steal but gave it away seconds later in what started a sloppy few possessions for both teams.

A few possessions later, Rice missed on a three-point attempt, but gathered his own rebound before coughing it up to the Pioneer defense. Jurić added two more points to his total with two more paint points on the next trip up the floor. Rice bounced back by hitting a triple after missing one a few minutes later.

Ralph-Beyer answered for Sacred Heart with a three of his own right before the under-twelve media timeout. After the break, Jurić missed a bunny layup, but corralled his own miss and completed the putback bucket. A few minutes later, Dilione swished two free throws to extend the Penn State lead to 76-37.

Sacred Heart did all it could to keep fighting and keep the game respectable, but the talent gap continued to show between the two teams in the final minutes. Mingo continued to shine, proving he is a special player despite his young age. Mirtič used his big body to score in the paint once again with five minutes to play.

Yadd swished a triple – the Pioneers’ ninth of the game, but Penn State still led 84-47. The Nittany Lions’ offense stalled in the final minutes, but at that point, it didn’t matter for the blue and white. Penn State took care of business at the Bryce Jordan Center with a 90-59 win.

Takeaways

• Penn State did itself no favors scheduling so many weak out-of-conference opponents this season. The Nittany Lions have learned very little about themselves through the first month of the season.
• Penn State’s offense was hitting on all cylinders on Saturday. The Nittany Lions shot 54.2% from the field and 43.8% from behind the arc.
• It felt like Sacred Heart had no desire to keep care of the ball on offense. The Pioneers finished with 24 turnovers.

What’s Next?

Penn State will be back on the court at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, December 2, to take on Campbell at the Bryce Jordan Center. The game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.