Penn State Men’s Basketball Overcomes Late Scare Against Mercyhurst

Penn State welcomed Mercyhurst to the Bryce Jordan Center on Thursday night for the first-ever meeting between the two schools on the hardwood. The Lakers (1-3) were undermanned with just eight players making the trip to Happy Valley due to a flurry of injuries, and the Nittany Lions (3-1) capitalized with a 72-57 win despite a brief scare in the second half. “Credit to Mercyhurst, I thought they slowed the game down and mucked it up and they did a good job staying in contact and all that stuff,” head coach Mike Rhoades said after the game. How It Happened Mercyhurst made it a priority to put up early shots beyond the arc, with five of its first nine attempts coming from 3-point land. Penn State took the opposite approach with most of its shots from inside the paint against an undersized Laker squad. “We’re not as tough as we need to be, but we’re getting there,” Rhoades said. “Some guys are, other guys aren’t yet, but it’s not for lack of caring or not wanting to be tou