Ivan Juric collected 14 points and nine rebounds to pace a balanced Penn State effort in a 90-59 home win over Sacred Heart on Saturday in University Park, Pa.
Penn State (7-1) shot 54.2% from the field, compared to 37% for Sacred Heart (2-5). The Nittany Lions also dominated on the glass (39-23) and forced 24 turnovers en route to the comfortable victory.
Kayden Mingo was the driving force behind the Nittany Lions’ defensive effort, matching the school record of eight steals to go with 13 points and five assists. Melih Tunca chipped in with 12 points for Penn State, while Eli Rice (11) and Freddie Dilione V (10) also scored in double figures.
Dashon Gittens paced Sacred Heart with 15 points. Nyle Ralph-Beyer pitched in with 14 points for the Pioneers.
All 10 players who saw action for Sacred Heart committed at least one turnover. Taj Bryant committed five turnovers in 14 minutes, while Ralph-Beyer was among several players with three miscues.
Sacred Heart led 9-8 early before Penn State scored eight straight points, highlighted by Rice’s 3-pointer.
The Nittany Lions led 23-15 before unleashing a 22-3 run to tilt the scoreboard heavily in their favor. Dominick Stewart drained a 3-pointer early in that run before Josh Reed’s back-to-back buckets made it 38-18.
Rice’s 3-pointer sent the lead north of 20 for the first time, and then Mingo’s free throw gave Penn State its largest lead up to that point at 45-18. Dilione’s layup sent the Nittany Lions into the locker room with a 47-20 advantage.
Penn State scored the first four points of the second half — both by Juric — to go ahead by 31.
Sacred Heart whittled its deficit down to 54-30 before a 13-0 run by Penn State ended any hopes of a comeback. Rice made the first bucket of that run and also ended the surge with a 3-pointer to make it 67-30.
The Nittany Lions led by as many as 40 points down the stretch.
