The Penn State menโs basketball team beat Fairfield Monday night, 76โ68, in its season-opening game.
The back-and-forth contest featured 13 lead changes and 12 ties before PSU closed strong with a decisive 16โ2 run over the last 3:28, including 11 unanswered points in the last two minutes.
Penn Stateโs depth ultimately wore down the Stags.
Coach Mike Rhoades said afterward that the young team can confidently go 6โ10 players deep on the roster.
Although the group has limited Division I experience, it boasts plenty of talent. Rhoades said after the game that every player will have to earn their minutes this season because of the teamโs depth, noting that he expects to use multiple starting lineups throughout the year.
That depth was on full display Monday night with a balanced scoring attack. Freshman guard Melih Tunca, an international newcomer from Turkey, came off the bench to lead Penn State with 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting. He also dished out a game-high six assists, grabbed four rebounds, and added two steals. Fellow freshmen Kayden Mingo, Ivan Juric and Tibor Mirtic also made immediate impacts.
Mingo finished with 15 points, five rebounds, two assists, a steal, and a block. Juric, the 7-foot center from Croatia, displayed excellent footwork and touch around the basket, scoring 13 points on a perfect 5-for-5 from the field.
Mirtic, a Slovenian forward, led all players with 11 rebounds while contributing six points and an assistโincluding the game-sealing tip-in with 39 seconds remaining. Redshirt sophomore guard Eli Rice added 10 points and hit two clutch three-pointers to spark the second-half surge.
Penn State showed plenty of heart and composure in its much-anticipated opener.
There was no panic in this young squad, though defensive lapses allowed Fairfield to score 38 points in the paintโsomething Rhoades acknowledged as an area for improvement moving forward.
The Nittany Lions will travel to West Haven, Connecticut, to face the New Haven Chargers on Saturday, November 8, at 1:00 p.m. The game will stream live on NEC Front Row at no cost.
