Trending
UNIVERSITY PARK — The Penn State men’s basketball team and its retooled roster opened the 2026 season with a dominant, 97-57, victory over Canisius on Monday night at the Bryce Jordan Center for the program's ninth straight season-opening win.
Fifth-year forward Roko Prkačin shined in his collegiate debut with a 28-point performance. The Croatian was nearly perfect as he shot 12-of-14 from the field and 4-for-5 from the free throw line. He tacked on six boards with four of them being on the offensive end in an eye-opening debut.
The Nittany Lions finished the contest shooting 55.4% from the field while holding the Golden Griffins to a 39.3% mark. Canisius made just four of its 22 tries from beyond the arc thanks to a stifling effort from the Blue & White.
Sophomore forward Ivan Jurić posted a double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds, a new career-high on the glass. He drew six fouls and made 4-of-5 of his free throws. On the defensive end, the Zagreb, Croatia native blocked a shot and recorded a steal.
Graduate forward Josh Reed contributed 12 points, two rebounds and an assist to open his second season as a Nittany Lion. Junior guard Fraçois Wibaut, making his collegiate debut, rounded out the four members of the squad in double figures with a 10-point night to go along with three rebounds and two assists.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Nittany Lions came out hot from the opening tip, especially on the defensive end as they held Canisus without a point for the opening 2:53 of the game. Redshirt junior Brant Byers scored the first five points of the season via a fast break dunk and a 3-pointer. Prkačin added two buckets down low as Penn State stormed to an 11-2 lead by the first media break with 15:35 to go in the half.
The Penn State defense continued to hold firm in the opening frame as the Golden Griffins did not score a point from the 13:37 to 9:56 marks. The Nittany Lions extended their lead to 13 following an and-one basket by Jurić.
Prkačin continued to help the Blue & White own the low post with a putback bucket that on a play he was fouled at the 7:39 mark of the opening frame. He converted the ensuing free throw to give PSU a 28-14 edge out of the media timeout. The fifth year forward opened his Penn State career 4-of-4 from the field. He became the first Nittany Lion to score in double figures this season with two made free throws with 6:28 left to play in the first half.
Graduate forward Thomas Allard ballooned the Penn State advantage to 38-19 following a personal 5-0 run as the half fell under the five-minute mark. He made a quick drive into the paint for a right-handed finish before draining a 3-pointer from the right wing. Wibaut drained a 3-pointer from the corner for his seventh point of the opening half with 1:36 to play in the first.
Penn State held a decisive, 47-26 lead going into the locker room after the opening stanza. PSU outshot Canisius 50% to 31% from the field and held the Golden Griffins to a meager 8% from beyond the arc.
Canisius had some brief momentum to open the second half, but it was quickly halted by Prkačin, who converted six straight shots to bring his game total to 24 points with 13:05 to play. The Zagreb, Croatia native threw down two thunderous dunks to ignite the Bryce Jordan Center crowd to close out the 12 straight points he scored for the Blue & White. Canisus was forced to call a timeout as Penn State grew the lead to 31 points with a score of 66-35.
Out of the break, an alley-oop from senior guard Jay Rodgers to Jurić gave the home crowd more to cheer for before a steal by Wibaut to led to a transition layup by junior guard Robert Blums to once again allow the Nittany Lions to double the score of the Golden Griffins at 70-35 with 11:52 to play. The score by Jurić gave him a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds at that point.
Jurić continued to make his presence felt in the post. He bullied his way to the free throw line, converting both from the charity stripe, before snatching an offensive rebound that led to another score with just over eight minutes to play as PSU held a 77-44 lead.
Prkačin produced another highlight reel play working in tandem with Byers on the fast break. Byers lobbed the ball high for the trailing forward, who threw down a two-handed jam to the roar of the Blue & White faithful. He then rebounded a missed 3-pointer before using just one hand to slam it home and bring the lead to 85-46 with 5:36 left.
Reed drove in for his 10th point of the night and then battled through contact for a tough bucket following a Canisius turnover as Penn State took an 89-49 lead with less than four minutes remaining.
Redshirt freshman guard Reggie Grodin scored the first points of his collegiate career with two free throws at the 1:46 mark. He assisted freshman guard Andy Gemao's first collegiate points just 25 seconds later. Fellow freshman Aleksandar Zečević earned a trip to the free throw line, making one, for his first point as the Nittany Lions out on the finishing touches of the eventual 97-57 victory.
POSTGAME NOTES
· Penn State earned its ninth straight season-opening victory.
· The Nittany Lions earned 53 bench points compared to just 12 for the Golden Griffins.
· Penn State shot 55.4% from the field, including a 61.3% mark in the second half, compared to 39.3% for Canisius.
· Penn State is 5-0 all-time against Canisius with all five meetings in the series having taken place in Happy Valley.
· Prkačin shined in his collegiate debut with the Nittany Lions with 28 points and six rebounds.
· Jurić set a new career high with 15 rebounds in addition to 14 points.
· Four Nittany Lions scored in double digits in the season opener: Prkačin (28), Jurić (14), Reed (12) and Wibaut (10).
· Six Nittany Lions made their collegiate debuts: Gemao, Grodin, Prkačin, Grant Spacciapolli, Wibaut and Zečevic.
UP NEXT
Penn State will stay in Happy Valley to welcome Chattanooga to the Bryce Jordan Center on Thursday at 6 p.m. (ET). The contest will be televised on Big Ten Network.