Penn State welcomed Harvard to the Bryce Jordan Center for their third all-time meeting and first since 1976 on Wednesday night, looking to remain undefeated on the year.
Thanks to clutch second-half performances from Kayden Mingo and Melih Tunca, the Nittany Lions held on for an 84-80 victory over the Crimson.
“Guys just kept playing, even though it didn’t always go our way … Today was a gut-check win,” head coach Mike Rhoades said after the game.
How it happened
Ivan Jurić earned the start over Saša Ciani and knocked down Penn State’s first three of the game after some back-and-forth action to take an 11-7 lead headed into the first TV timeout of the game.
Dominick Stewart, the Big Ten’s leader in three-point percentage entering the game, checked in and hit a triple from the top of the arc to build an 18-12 lead, though he would finish the game 1-for-5 beyond the arc.
Melih Tunca, the Nittany Lions’ leading scorer entering the game, played the facilitator role with three early assists and no points midway through the opening half.
Harvard pulled within 26-25 after a pair of three-pointers, prompting Rhoades to call his first timeout. It didn’t stop the momentum, as the Crimson took a 30-28 lead on another deep ball from Thomas Batties III.
Harvard finished the first half shooting 8-for-16 from three-point land, but also committed more fouls and gave Penn State a 7-0 edge from the charity stripe, taking a 38-35 lead into the break. Josh Reed led all Nittany Lions with just seven points heading into the tunnel.
“He was under the weather the last couple days, and I thought he fought really hard,” Rhoades said. “We don’t win without him today.”
Penn State came out playing inspired in the second half, going on a 9-2 run and forcing a Crimson timeout. The Nittany Lions had opportunities to extend their lead with free throws, but struggled to convert, dropping to 7-for-14 after a pair of misses from Reed.
“I wanna fire the free-throw coach, but I’m the free-throw coach,” Rhoades said.
Harvard responded with some sharpshooting, scoring on nine consecutive possessions to take a 59-57 lead. Kayden Mingo mounted a response with 10 consecutive points for Penn State to build a 67-64 lead, including an and-one and a steal.
“I would say I’m a better shooter than the numbers have shown, so I always have confidence to shoot the next shot,” Mingo said. “Guys like Reed and the rest of the team always have confidence in me.”
Tunca, who had just four points in the first half, contributed with a clutch steal and layup to give Penn State the 72-70 advantage late in the contest.
Tunca’s late-game heroics continued with another steal, which he dished to Mingo for a layup, followed by another Tunca layup to make it 80-76 before Harvard began fouling.
The Nittany Lions held on with improved shooting from the stripe, advancing to 5-0 on the season and sending the Crimson home at 4-2.
“Usually when you’re young and you have close games, you lose them first, that’s just how it goes,” Rhoades said. “When you have freshmen on the court, a couple of new guys, you don’t figure it out. I think our guys are figuring it out.”
Team leaders
Penn State
Points: Kayden Mingo, 24
Rebounds: Ivan Jurić, 9
Assists: Melih Tunca, 6
Harvard
Points: Chandler Pigge, 21
Rebounds: Trey Barbour, 7
Assists: Chandler Pigge, 9
Next up: Penn State will continue nonconference play against Providence at 4 p.m. on Saturday at Mohegan Sun Arena, a neutral site in Connecticut.
