Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Pitt Beats Penn State 82-76 at the Palestra Behind Sumler 26

A'lahn Sumler scored 26 points to lead Pitt to an 82-76 win over Penn State on Sunday night at the Palestra in Philadelphia, in the 150th meeting between the longtime in-state rivals.

The game was played as part of the Palestra's 100th anniversary celebration. Pitt improved to 3-0 with its second straight win over Penn State, after beating the Nittany Lions 80-46 in Hershey on December 21, 2025. Penn State fell to 2-1.

Baye Ndongo had 13 points and eight rebounds for Pitt, and Jonathan Powell added 13 points, played all 40 minutes and recorded a game high five steals, Field Level Media reported. Pitt forced 16 Penn State turnovers and outscored the Nittany Lions 48-30 in the paint, On3 reported.

Dasonte Bowen scored 17 points for Penn State, and Ivan Juric had 16 points and 13 rebounds. Penn State outrebounded Pitt 37-28 and went 29 of 36 from the free throw line, while Pitt went 15 of 22.

Pitt takes the first half late

Penn State held a 35-28 lead with 6:26 left in the first half after a 3-pointer by Brant Byers. Pitt ended the half on a 14-3 run to lead 42-38 at the break.

Akir Souare scored the first six points of the game for Pitt. Sumler led the Panthers with six points during the closing run of the half, and Powell added four, Sports Illustrated reported.

A second half of runs

Pitt pushed the lead to 48-41 early in the second half. Penn State answered with an 8-0 run to lead 49-48 with 15:25 left.

Sumler put Pitt back in front with a 3-pointer, and the Panthers later used an 8-3 surge to lead 63-56 with 9:40 left. Foul trouble shaped the half. Pitt starters Naithan George, Baye Ndongo and Akir Souare all picked up their fourth fouls in the first ten minutes of the second half, On3 reported, and Pitt relied heavily on its bench down the stretch.

Holding a 70-66 lead, Pitt extended it to seven points on a Powell 3-pointer with 4:12 remaining. Ndongo's dunk gave Pitt a 77-69 lead with 1:56 left.

Penn State kept coming. Josh Reed converted a steal into a layup to cut the lead to 77-74 with 40.7 seconds left. George split two free throws to make it 78-74. Bowen answered with two free throws to make it a two point game, but Sumler sank two from the line with 13.2 seconds left to restore a four point cushion. Powell then closed the game with a steal and a dunk in the final seconds.

What happens next

Pitt travels to face Butler on Friday, November 13, at 6:30 p.m. Eastern. Penn State returns home to host Mercyhurst on November 12.