On Veterans Day, the Penn State men’s basketball team took care of business, defeating Navy 80–71 at the Bryce Jordan Center.
The opening minutes were evenly played as both teams felt each other out. At the first media timeout (16:48), Penn State held a slim 9–7 lead. Redshirt junior Freddie Dilione knocked down an early three to tie the game at 5–5 and set the tone from deep.
Freshman 7-footer Ivan Juric and sophomore guard Dominick Stewart sparked Penn State’s first-half surge, helping the Nittany Lions build a 24–15 advantage with 11:09 remaining. Juric started strong with six points on 3-for-3 shooting, while Stewart led the team with eight points, including two three-pointers.
Penn State maintained its balanced attack and led 29–23 with five minutes left in the half. Navy answered with a short run behind Donovan Draper and Jinwoo Kim, who each scored seven in the period.
At halftime, Penn State led 38–32. Stewart paced the Lions with eight points, followed by Josh Reed and Juric with seven each, and Melih Tunca with six. Kim led Navy with 12 points and Draper added nine.
The second half began with both teams trading baskets, but Penn State pulled ahead 49–41 by the 15:35 mark. Juric, starting the half in place of Sasa Ciani, scored four quick points and held his own defensively against Navy’s 6-11 center Aidan Kehoe.
Dilione extended the lead with an and-one and a jumper, putting Penn State up 56–45 with 13:30 to play. Reed continued to dominate the glass, finishing with a team-high six rebounds, as the Lions led 59–51 midway through the half.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Reed buried a jumper with 8:49 remaining, and Kayden Mingo followed with a transition dunk to push the margin to 10, 63–53. Kim responded with his fourth three-pointer of the night to cut the deficit to seven.
Dilione came up clutch again, converting another three-point play, and Mingo’s aggressive drive made it 68–60 with 4:53 left. Penn State’s depth proved decisive, with the bench contributing 38 points overall.
With under two minutes to play, the Nittany Lions led 76–65 and sealed the win from the free-throw line as Navy was forced to foul late.
Final score: Penn State 80, Navy 71.
The Nittany Lions return to action Saturday, Nov. 15, in Philadelphia against the La Salle Explorers in the Basketball on Broad Autumn Invitational. Tip-off at the Xfinity Mobile Arena is scheduled for 1 p.m., with the game airing live on Peacock.
