UNIVERSITY PARK — Melih Tunca scored 19 points and had six assists, and Kayden Mingo added 15 points to lead Penn State to a 75-68 win over Fairfield in the season opener for both teams Monday night.
Penn State trailed by three points with 2 minutes, 17 seconds remaining but pulled away with an 11-0 run over the final two minutes. Tunca had six of those points, hitting a tying 3-pointer at the two-minute mark. He was 7 of 11 from the field.
Tibor Mirtic added a game-high 11 rebounds along with six points.
Fairfield opened the game on a 12-0 scoring run, but Penn State quickly cut into the deficit, leaving it 37-37 at the half.
Fairfield’s Braden Sparks led all scorers with 25 points, going 5 of 12 from 3-point range. Brandon Benjamin had 18 points and 10 rebounds and was 8 of 11 from the field.
