STATE COLLEGE – The Penn State men’s basketball team showcased its depth Tuesday night as the Nittany Lions tallied 38 bench points and had five players score in double figures to secure an 80-71 win over Navy inside the Bryce Jordan Center. 

Penn State moves to 3-0 for the fourth-straight year, marking the first time the Nittany Lions have started 3-0 in four-consecutive years since doing so in eight-straight seasons from 1919-20 to 1926-27. PSU also improved to 15-1 overall inside the Bryce Jordan Center in non-conference matchups under the direction of third-year Peter & Ann Tombros Endowed Head Coach Mike Rhoades, highlighted by wins in each of the last 11 non-conference home games played at the BJC.

Points off the pine drove the Blue & White to their success on Tuesday night, calling on five student-athletes off the bench to combine for an eye-popping 38-6 scoring differential in that statistic. Navy held an early advantage in the game, but following a layup from senior forward Josh Reed at the 16:19 mark of the first half, the Nittany Lions never trailed again.

The Nittany Lions spent 35:44 with the lead and rarely fell below a double-digit advantage as Penn State controlled Tuesday night’s affair en route to a 3-0 start in regular season play.

Freddie Dilione V scored a season-best 19 points to lead the Nittany Lions with his second-straight double-digit scoring game. Freshman guard Kayden Mingo published double digits in the scoring column for the third game in a row, accomplishing that feat in every game of his inaugural season to date. The Farmingdale, New York, native also led the Blue & White in rebounds with a career-high seven, in addition to assists with four.

Three additional Penn Staters cracked double digits in scoring, with senior forward Josh Reed booking 11 points with a career-high six steals, freshman guard Melih Tunca cracking double figures for the third time in three games with 11 points, and freshman forward Ivan Jurić also dropping 11 points on an efficient 5-for-7 outing from the field.

The Midshipmen hauled in the opening tip, but neither team found the bottom of the net until Navy logged an and-one layup at the 19:05 mark to give the visitors a quick 3-0 edge. Mingo notched the first points of the night for PSU on a breakaway lay-in the next trip down the floor, but Navy managed to answer back moments later. Dilione V drilled a left-wing triple on a feed from Mingo, and a putback layup from Reed gave Penn State its first lead of the night at 7-5.

Mingo found Jurić with an impressive pass for a dunk to give PSU a 9-5 edge, but back-to-back jumpers from Navy saw the game knotted up once more. A triple from Jurić and fastbreak dunk by Dilione V saw the Nittany Lions pull ahead by five, but the Midshipmen managed to prevent any sustained momentum for the Blue & White, trading buckets each way to the tune of an 18-15 PSU advantage at the 11:52 mark. Back-to-back triples from Dominick Stewart gave Penn State a 24-15 lead with 11:06 left in the first, forcing a Navy timeout.