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.
Kayden Mingo scored 14 points, and reserve Ivan Juric had 11 for the Nittany Lions (4-0), whose bench scored 40 points.
The Nittany Lions shot 58% (33 of 57) and made half of their 20 3-point shots.
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).
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.
