Penn State snaps skid
STATE COLLEGE – It took Penn State 33 days to put together a 40-minute game and Nittany Lions coach Patrick Chambers loved every minute of it.
D.J. Newbill scored 23 points and Brandon Taylor 16 to lead Penn State to a 79-51 win over Rutgers Saturday for its first Big Ten Conference victory of the season and first win since Dec. 22 after starting the season 12-1.
The Nittany Lions (13-7, 1-6 Big Ten), losers of six straight games, never trailed after taking a 16-15 lead with just over 10 minutes to play in the opening half. Their season-high 18 assists complemented 29 of 57 shooting.
The 28-point spread was Penn State’s largest margin of victory since December 2011 against Mount St. Mary’s (29) and largest in conference play since 1998 against Northwestern (38).
“I felt like the last four games were so close,” Chambers said. “I thought we’ve been really close to getting 40 minutes and we finally got there.”
Shep Garner added 13 points for Penn State, including three 3-pointers. Penn State shot 10 of 20 from three-point range and its first 12 points of the game were on three-pointers.
Penn State was shooting just 30 percent from three-point range but Chambers said he wanted his players to keep firing.
“That’s the only way we’re going to be successful,” he said. “I want kids to put themselves out there, take big shots, make big shots, get to the free-throw line. That’s the way you have to play.”
Robert Morris 67, St. Francis (N.Y.) 65: Lucky Jones hit a 3-pointer to pull ahead by one with 17 seconds left and finished with 15 points to help Robert Morris to a 67-65 win over St. Francis (N.Y.).
Kavon Stewart scored 13 points and Rodney Pryor had 12 points and nine rebounds for Robert Morris (10-10, 6-2 Northeast).
With under two minutes remaining, Brent Jones made two free throws to put St. Francis up two. After Lucky Jones hit the go-ahead with 17 seconds, St. Francis missed a basket and Aaron Tate hit a free throw to put the Robert Morris up two. Brent Jones missed a trying layup as time expired.
George Washingotn 74, Duquesne 59: Patricio Garino scored 20 points, Joe McDonald chipped in 16 and George Washington rolled to a 74-59 victory over Duquesne.
Derrick Colter scored 12 points to lead the Dukes (6-12, 1-6).