Penn State men’s basketball (2-0) beat Chattanooga (0-2) 97-93 in a Thursday night thriller at the Bryce Jordan Center.

Coming off a dominant win over Canisius on Monday night, led by Roko Prkačin’s 28 points, Penn State went back-and-forth with the Mocs until a 16-2 run gave the team a 20-point lead.

Chattanooga responded out of halftime with a run of its own, cutting the deficit to six, but Penn State held on.

How It Happened

Ivan Jurić won the tip for the Nittany Lions, but Thomas Allard stole the show early. Allard delivered eight straight points in the first two-and-a-half minutes, knocking down two threes and a mid-range jumper to take an 8-5 lead.

The Mocs barked back with a pair of threes by Kobe McDowell-White, and it was all squared up at 11-11 heading into the first media timeout just past the four-minute mark.

Francois Wibaut scored first out of the break with an and-one layup and a corner three after Jurić headed to the bench with a bloody nose, sparking a 10-2 run to a 21-13 lead.

The Mocs had only one made field goal in the last four minutes, and only two from players other than McDowell-White. But they went to the hot hand and cut into the lead to 23-18 with a McDowell-White three-pointer before a media timeout near the middle of the half.

Monday night’s point leader Roko Prkačin got on the board with an offensive rebound and layup, then Wibaut added on with a mid-range pull-up, a steal, and a point from the charity line. Penn State entered the bonus after Jurić deflected a pass, and Bowen knocked down both free throws to take a 30-22 lead.

Jurić continued his dominance by knocking down his first three of the season to extend the lead to 33-22. The Nittany Lions had forced turnovers in three of Chattanooga’s last seven possessions heading into a media timeout with seven minutes remaining.

Big Ivan Jurić getting it done from beyond the arc pic.twitter.com/kuzfhDcK31

— Onward State (@OnwardState) November 5, 2026

Prkačin drove and delivered an and-one out of the break, after a great defensive rotation by Penn State brought the lead to 38-24. The Mocs had, once again, made only one field goal in the last three minutes, with two turnovers.

The Nittany Lions extended their lead to 20 points after a pair of free throws by Josh Reed, capping off a 16-2 run in the last four-and-a-half minutes, despite being 0-for-3 from beyond the arc and 1-for-6 in the last 10 minutes.

Chattanooga bounced back with a 6-2 run out of the media timeout, though it hardly dented the lead the Nittany Lions built in the second half of the first frame.

The teams exchanged shots, but Penn State maintained a 54-31 lead heading into halftime.

The Mocs started the second half with possession, and Yonatan Levy earned an and-one, but didn’t deliver from the line. Nonetheless, his layup kickstarted a 6-0 run out of halftime, assisted by four offensive rebounds.

Penn State responded with a pair of offensive rebounds, but an offensive foul gave the Mocs a chance to extend their run. Matt Hampton did just that with an and-one, though he did not convert, making his team 2-for-9 from the line.

Wibaut and Prkačin put Penn State on the board in consecutive possessions with a mid-range and an and-one. Prkačin converted from the line, despite his form.

The Mocs responded with an and-one, fouled by Prkačin, this time cutting into Penn State’s lead to 59-45 at the five-minute mark.

McDowell-White took another stab at the lead with a pair of threes, bringing his point total to 21 with six made 3-pointers in seven attempts. The Nittany Lions’ lead dwindled to 11 at the seven-minute mark after leading by 23 points at the start of the half.

Penn State, still without a made three-pointer in the half, needed a spark. Bowen lined up an open 3-pointer but missed, and the team went three minutes without a made field goal. However, the Nittany Lions kept some of their lead on free throws, going 5-for-6 since the last made field goal.

Coming out of the media break, the Mocs tacked on two from the line, bringing the deficit to 10. Jurić, who hadn’t made a field goal since the first half, drove into the paint and missed a layup. Bowen finally ended the field-goal drought at the 10-minute mark with a pull-up mid-range jumper.

McDowell-White cut the lead to single digits after driving coast-to-coast and drawing a goaltending call.

Allard brought the lead back to double digits with Penn State’s first made 3-pointer of the half, after the team missed its first five from beyond the arc.

By the 14-minute mark, both teams had eclipsed 10 fouls, and Jurić went to the line to pad Penn State’s lead. He made one, making it 79-68.

Chattanooga called a timeout with five minutes left, down 81-72.

Reed scored out of the break with a finger-roll layup, and drilled two at the line on the next possession to lift Penn State’s lead to 13.

McDowell-White got two back for Chattanooga and assisted a 3-pointer after a Brant Byers turnover. Penn State’s lead dwindled to eight with three minutes remaining.

Reed stopped the bleeding with a layup and a steal after the Mocs got a little greedy pushing the ball downcourt. His 14th and 15th made free throws cut the deficit to 10, but Hampton quickly responded with a two, and then, on the next possession, fouled out Allard.

With a minute remaining, Chattanooga trailed by six and had possession. After drawing up a play, the Mocs missed a 3-pointer and fouled Bowen. Bowen made both from the line, but McDowell-White responded with a 3-pointer, bringing the score to 91-86.

Chattanooga pressed, but Penn State broke it and found Reed wide open to extend the lead to seven. Wibaut fouled Hampton beyond the arc, and the Mocs made it a five-point game. After another press break, the teams exchanged fouls until time expired on the Mocs comeback.

Takeaways

• In the final 14 minutes of the first half, Penn State shot 1-7 from beyond the arc, went on a 37-20 run, and built a 23-point lead with airtight defense.
• The Nittany Lions went on a field-goal drought for more than five minutes, allowing the Mocs to come back. Penn State also made only one 3-pointer in the second half.
• Penn State shot 43-for-49 from the charity line compared to Chattanooga’s 14-for-23. Last season, the Nittany Lions shot 75% from the line.
• Scoring was evenly distributed amongst the Nittany Lions, with six players scoring double digits, led by Josh Reed’s 25 points — 15 from the line.

What’s Next?

Penn State will stay in Pennsylvania and head east to The Palestra to face cross-state rivals, the Pitt Panthers, on Sunday at 8 p.m. The Big Ten Network will broadcast the game.

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