Josh Reed collected 17 points and eight rebounds to guide Penn State to a 96-87 victory over Boston University on Tuesday at University Park, Pa.
Penn State (6-1) shot 67.9% from the field in the first half and held off upset-minded Boston University in the second half. Melih Tunca scored 16 points for the Nittany Lions, while Ivan Juric added 15 and Kayden Mingo notched 14.
Michael McNair scored 25 of his career-high 28 points in the second half for Boston University (3-4). Azmar Abdullah and Ben Roy chipped in with 11 points apiece for the Terriers.
Penn State missed four of its first five shots in the opening three minutes of the game before making 18 of its next 22 attempts.
The Nittany Lions embarked on a 9-0 run to turn a 17-13 lead into a 13-point advantage near the midway point of the first half. Freddie Dilione V began the surge with a jumper before setting up buckets by Tibor Mirtic and Dominick Stewart.
Despite the Nittany Lions’ hot shooting, Chance Gladden’s tip-in got Boston University within 40-29 with just over four minutes left in the half. Tunca responded with a 3-pointer and Dilione added one as Penn State went on to lead 51-35 at the break.
Boston University scored the first two points of the second half, but Penn State accounted for 10 of the next 13 to open a 21-point cushion. Eli Rice’s 3-pointer and Tunca’s three-point play began the run before buckets by Mingo and Juric pushed the advantage to 61-40.
The Terriers stayed in the game. Abdullah drained two 3-pointers and Ethan Okwuosa made another one to quickly get Boston University within 61-49 with 14:03 remaining.
With about eight minutes left, McNair knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to get Boston University within 75-66. He made another about a minute later and then another with 4:30 to play, bringing the Terriers within 83-72.
On the other end, Tunca made a pair of layups with under three minutes remaining as Penn State closed out the victory.
