Penn State men’s basketball (3-1) beat Mercyhurst (1-3) 72-57 on Thursday night at the Bryce Jordan Center.

Both squads exchanged missed shots in the opening minutes, shooting a combined 4-for-20 from the field.

Penn State broke it open with a 10-0 run in the back end of the first half. Consistency from its 3-point shooters lifted the Nittany Lions to a cleaner second half of basketball, outscoring the Lakers 39-28.

How It Happened

Mercyhurst won the opening tip-off, and both teams put their first points on the board at the charity stripe. The Croatians racked up Penn State’s first six points, giving their team a 6-5 lead at the four-minute mark.

The Lakers showcased their ability to crash the boards early, collecting four offensive rebounds to Penn State’s two within the first few possessions. Marcus Jackson gave the Lakers a 7-6 lead with a made layup through contact heading into the first media timeout of the game.

Coming out of the media break, the squads were a combined 4-for-20 from the field, with only one made 3-pointer. Brant Byers reclaimed Penn State’s lead by getting fouled from beyond the arc and drilling two of three free throws. Ivan Jurić added to the lead with a pair of layups kissed off the glass in consecutive possessions.

François Wibaut’s foul just under nine minutes into the half sent the game to a media timeout, with Penn State leading 12-9.

The Nittany Lions set the tone out of the break, forcing a five-second inbound violation and drawing two fouls on the other end of the floor. Jurić, with a 79% free-throw percentage, sank one of two for a 13-9 lead as the game passed the 10-minute mark.

Penn State broke open the slow game with a Byers 3-pointer, the first of the game for his team, and a rebound he passed ahead to Wibaut for a fast-break dunk. The Lakers called a timeout down 18-9 with eight minutes remaining.

Brant Byers doing what he does best pic.twitter.com/ObSlrT4FZr

— Onward State (@OnwardState) November 13, 2026

Prkačin had a chance to make it a 10-0 run in the last four minutes, but missed both from the stripe. Cameron Johnson ended the five-minute scoring drought for the Lakers with a pull-up mid-ranger, but Josh Reed responded with a back-door cut layup, and Prkačin with a post-move good for two to make it a 12-2 run over the last six minutes.

Reed drove into the lane for another two, but Prkačin gave it right back with a turnover that led to an open dunk. The Nittany Lions led 24-13 with four remaining in the frame.

Jake Lemelman nailed a three for Mercyhurst to cut into the lead to 24-16 heading into a media break, and made two from the line coming out of it. The guard sank another trey and converted an and-one in the remaining minutes, though Byers responded with a logo-three to keep Penn State’s lead at four with seconds left in the half.

BRANT BYERS FROM THE LOGO pic.twitter.com/mXnlOoAaNs

— Onward State (@OnwardState) November 13, 2026

Penn State entered halftime with a 33-29 lead.

Prkačin added his seventh and eighth points from the line to open the second half, but Hunter Te Ratana responded with a chase-down block on Thomas Allard and a layup down the other end.

Te Ratana and Prkačin exchanged buckets in the low post for their eighth and 10th points, respectively. Geoff Sprouse and Shane Kirker added two points each to knot the game up just over three minutes into the frame.

Prkačin got the lead back for Penn State with a bucket in the paint, then sent the game to break with a foul on the floor. Allard ended his drought from beyond the arc at a great time, breaking the tie and giving the Nittany Lions a three-point lead. Wibaut came away with a steal on the next possession and added another point to the lead, though free-throw struggles continued.

Andy Gemao committed two fouls within his first minutes on the court, but collected a rebound and an assist, the first of his college career, as Byers drained his third 3-pointer of the night. Penn State led 48-41 when Mercyhurst called its first timeout of the half at the 10-minute mark.

The Lakers’ timeout couldn’t stop Penn State’s backcourt from heating up, as Allard sank a second triple for a 10-point lead. Jackson scored his first points since the first five minutes of the game to bring the lead back to single digits, and Mercyhurst began to full-court press.

Prkačin lifted the Penn State faithful off their seats with a slam-dunk off a fast break, and Reed forced the Lakers to use their second timeout after draining a wide-open three, taking a 58-45 lead with six minutes remaining.

Mercyhurst was only one for its last nine from the field, dating back to the seven-minute mark, before Deraje Agbaosi slammed one home for the Lakers. Jurić brought Penn State’s lead back to 14 with a pair of trips to the free-throw line.

Agbaosi finger-rolled in a layup for the final bucket before the media timeout with four minutes remaining in the frame. Johnson came out hot for Mercyhurst, picking up a steal, a triple down the other end of the court, and assisting on a 3-pointer in the following possession to cut the lead to six points.

Jurić stole two back for Penn State with a back-down bucket in the paint, and Byers used a back-door cut on the next possession to extend the lead into double digits with less than two minutes remaining.

Desonte Bowen iced the game with a pair of free throws, extending Penn State’s lead to 15 before time expired.

Takeaways

• It was a tale of two halves from the free-throw line for the Nittany Lions. They left six points at the free-throw line in the first half, shooting 5-for-11 as the Croatians totaled a combined 3-for-7 from the line. But Ivan Jurić and Roko Prkačin sank six of eight from the stripe, helping Penn State to an 8-for-12 total in the second half.
• Penn State shot 3-for-7 from beyond the arc, with Thomas Allard and Brant Byers finding their stride — an improvement from the team’s 6-for-23 performance last game in the Bryce Jordan Center.
• Defensive rebounding in the first half was a struggle for the Nittany Lions, as Mercyhurst collected six offensive rebounds. However, Penn State’s defense it them to only two second-chance points off of the six rebounds.
• Jurić posted his fourth double-double in as many games with a team-leading 20 points and 15 rebounds.

What’s Next?

Penn State will stay in Happy Valley to play New Haven at the Bryce Jordan Center at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, November 15. Peacock and NBC Sports will broadcast the game.

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