Trending
PHILADELPHIA -- Freshman Melih Tunca scored a career-best 20 points on 8-of-9 shooting, reserve Freddie Dilione V added 16 and Penn State beat La Salle 83-69 on Saturday afternoon.
Tunca was 8-for-9 from the field and 4-for-4 from 3-point range to tally a game-high 20 points in the non-conference game played inside Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia.
Dilione also notched three rebounds and three assists. Kayden Mingo, another freshman, followed with 14 points, a career-best seven assists and four rebounds and reserve Ivan Juric rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11 points and a career-high six rebounds.
The Nittany Lions shot 57.9 percent (33-57) from the field and 50.0 percent (10-20) from deep. The Nittany Lions showed off their depth once again, tallying 40 bench points in the win. Penn State had 21 assists on 33 made baskets with just seven turnovers.
Penn State moves to 4-0 on the season with the neutral site victory inside of the home of the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers. The Nittany Lions used a 20-0 run midway through the first half to find the separation they would need and never looked back as Penn State picked up its second double-digit victory of the year.
Jerome Brewer Jr. and Ashton Walker each scored 13 points and Eric Acker and reserve Jaeden Marshall each had 11 for the Explorers (2-2).
The Explorers scored the first five points of the game, but Penn State answered with the next seven as a Tunca 3-pointer, pair of Josh Reed free throws and Dilione driving layup gave the Nittany Lions a 7-5 lead at the first media timeout. The Penn State defense forced four La Salle turnovers in the Explorers' first seven possessions of the game.
Marshall's 3-pointer 6 1/2 minutes in gave La Salle a 12-9 lead before Penn State countered with a 20-0 outburst that lasted 5 1/2 minutes. The Nittany Lions made all seven of their shot attempts during the run, shot 2 for 3 from the foul line and Dominic Stewart converted a three-point play and made a 3 during the run.
The Nittany Lions stayed ahead by double digits for the entire second half.
The Explorers slowly chipped away and eventually pulled within 10 at 77-67 with 2:14 left, but a Tunca driving layup and back-to-back Dilione buckets quickly halted the La Salle momentum.
Penn State returns home Wednesday night to host Harvard in a 6:30 p.m. tipoff inside the Bryce Jordan Center.