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UNIVERSITY PARK -- Ivan Juric had 20 points and a career-high tying 15 rebounds, Roko Prkacin and Brant Byers each scored 15, and Penn State blew a 13-point lead before the Nittany Lions beat Mercyhurst 72-57 on Thursday night in the first matchup between the in-state programs.
Penn State was coming off a Sunday night loss to the Pitt Panthers in a game that was played in Philadelphia.
Juric was 7-of-8 shooting, Prkacin made 5 of 6 from the field and Byers hit three 3-pointers for Penn State (3-1).
Jake Lemelman led Mercyhurst (1-3) with 20 points on 7-of-22 shooting and added six assists. Cameron Johnson scored 12 and Hunter Te Ratana added 10 points.
Mercyhurst tied the score three times in the second half, the last coming when Lemelman's layup made it 41-all with 13:13 left in the game, but Penn State answered with 10 consecutive points to take control for good. Thomas Allard made 3s to open and close the spurt.
The Nittany Lions shot 51% from the field and made 6 of 11 (55%) from 3-point range while they limited the Lakers to 33% (20 of 60) shooting, 6 of 21 (29%) from behind the arc.
Josh Reed sandwiched two layups around another from Prkacin to cap a 14-2 run that pushed Penn State's lead to 13 points with 5:30 left in the first half.
Lemelman scored 11 points in the last four minutes of the first half to trim the deficit to 33-29 at the intermission.
Mercyhurst, which has lost to Notre Dame and Marquette also this season, is a member of the Northeast Conference and was predicted to finish second in the league in preseason voting by the NEC coaches.
Up next
Mercyhurst is at James Madison on Sunday.
Penn State hosts New Haven, another member of the Northeast Conference, on Sunday.
MERCYHURST (1-3): Agbaosi 2-8 0-0 4, Johnson 3-7 4-4 12, Jackson 1-3 2-3 4, Lemelman 7-22 3-4 20, Sprouse 1-10 2-2 5, Te Ratana 5-9 0-0 10, Kirker 1-1 0-0 2, Leman 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-60 11-13 57.
PENN STATE (3-1): Juric 7-8 6-11 20, Prkacin 5-6 4-6 14, Reed 3-8 0-0 7, Allard 2-7 0-0 6, Bowen 1-5 2-2 4, Byers 4-7 3-5 14, Wibaut 3-4 1-3 7, Rodgers 0-1 0-0 0, Gemao 0-1 0-0 0, Oboh 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 25-49 16-27 72.
Halftime--Penn State 33-29. 3-Point Goals--Mercyhurst 6-29 (Lemelman 3-10, Johnson 2-3, Sprouse 1-10, Jackson 0-2, Te Ratana 0-4), Penn State 6-11 (Byers 3-5, Allard 2-4, Reed 1-2). Rebounds_Mercyhurst 31 (Johnson 9), Penn State 36 (Juric 15). Assists--Mercyhurst 13 (Lemelman 6), Penn State 17 (Bowen 7). Total Fouls--Mercyhurst 21, Penn State 16. A--4,884 (15,261).