UNIVERSITY PARK — Divine Ugochukwu scored a career-high 23 points and No. 9 Michigan State overcame a sloppy performance to beat Penn State 76-72 on Saturday.

Jaxon Kohler posted his fifth double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds while Carson Cooper added 10 points for the Spartans (9-1, 2-0 Big Ten), who committed a season-high 17 turnovers and trailed for long stretches in both halves.

They were able to bear down, however, and avoid a second-straight loss after falling to No. 4 Duke last Monday.

Freddie Dilione scored a career-high 22 points, Kayden Mingo added 11 and Ivan Juric had 10 for the Nittany Lions (8-3, 0-2), who led by as many as nine in the first half and then by three with five minutes left.

MICHIGAN STATE (9-1): Carr 1-4 1-2 3, Kohler 5-8 0-0 10, Cooper 2-8 6-6 10, Fears 2-5 4-6 8, Ugochukwu 8-10 2-2 23, Scott 2-4 1-1 7, Teng 2-4 2-2 8, McCulloch 0-2 2-2 2, Ward 1-2 0-0 2, Wojcik 0-1 0-0 0, Fort 1-4 0-0 3. Totals 24-52 18-21 76.

PENN STATE (8-3): Juric 4-9 0-0 10, Reed 2-6 0-0 4, Mingo 5-13 0-0 11, Stewart 0-2 0-0 0, Tunca 2-7 0-0 5, Dilione 8-15 4-5 23, Rice 3-8 2-2 9, Mirtic 3-5 0-0 6, Ciani 1-1 2-2 4, Blackwood 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-66 8-9 72.

Halftime–Penn State 39-36. 3-Point Goals–Michigan State 10-18 (Ugochukwu 5-5, Teng 2-2, Scott 2-3, Fort 1-3, Carr 0-1, Fears 0-1, Kohler 0-1, McCulloch 0-1, Wojcik 0-1), Penn State 8-29 (Dilione 3-8, Juric 2-5, Tunca 1-3, Mingo 1-4, Rice 1-4, Stewart 0-2, Reed 0-3). Rebounds–Michigan State 35 (Kohler 12), Penn State 26 (Mingo 7). Assists–Michigan State 14 (Fears 9), Penn State 14 (Mingo 8). Total Fouls–Michigan State 13, Penn State 18. A–7,091

Road woes for Pitt

VILLANOVA — The Pitt Panthers fell below .500 at 5-6 on Saturday, losing 79-61 to Villanova.

The Panthers got 17 points from Barry Dunning Jr. Teammate Nojus Indrusaitis added 14 points to go with 10 each from Cam Corhen and Damarco Minor.

The Panthers, who were down 41-32 at halftime, host Binghamton Wednesday at 7 p.m.

PITTSBURGH (5-6): Corhen 4-9 2-2 10, Siulepa 0-3 0-0 0, Cummings 2-8 2-2 6, Minor 4-9 1-2 10, Dunning 7-11 0-1 17, Indrusaitis 6-13 1-2 14, Witherspoon 1-4 1-1 3, Mullen 0-0 0-0 0, Moore 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 24-57 8-12 61.

VILLANOVA (8-2): Brennan 8-8 8-12 24, Hodge 3-6 0-0 8, Lewis 4-9 2-2 11, Lindsay 8-18 4-4 24, Perkins 0-2 2-4 2, Askew 2-4 0-0 5, Gapare 0-1 2-2 2, Jeffrey 1-1 0-0 3, Palmer 0-1 0-0 0, Pierce 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-50 18-24 79.

Halftime–Villanova 41-32. 3-Point Goals–Pittsburgh 5-22 (Dunning 3-6, Minor 1-4, Indrusaitis 1-5, Siulepa 0-1, Witherspoon 0-1, Cummings 0-5), Villanova 9-22 (Lindsay 4-11, Hodge 2-4, Jeffrey 1-1, Lewis 1-1, Askew 1-3, Palmer 0-1, Perkins 0-1). Rebounds–Pittsburgh 32 (Corhen 7), Villanova 25 (Brennan 9). Assists–Pittsburgh 12 (Cummings 4), Villanova 20 (Lewis 7). Total Fouls–Pittsburgh 19, Villanova 14. A–6,501

SFU defeated

PHILADELPHIA — Despite 22 points from Skylar Wicks and 14 points from Zion Russell, the Saint Francis men’s basketball team lost 95-67 to Temple on Saturday in collegiate action.

The Owls scored 12 of the first 14 points and never looked back en route to its ninth loss in 11 games this season.

Saint Francis is at nationally-ranked Florida on Wednesday. Game time is 6:30 p.m. and can be seen on the SEC Network.

ST. FRANCIS (2-9): Liberis 3-4 2-4 8, Moncrief 2-8 0-1 4, Payne 2-4 0-0 5, Z.Russell 5-14 4-4 14, Wicks 8-17 1-1 22, Martino 2-6 0-2 5, Papadatos 0-2 0-0 0, B.Russell 1-1 0-0 2, Tweedy 1-1 0-0 2, Harrison 2-4 0-1 5, Weaver 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-61 7-13 67.

TEMPLE (6-5): Felt 2-2 0-0 4, Ford 8-15 3-4 24, Griffiths 6-9 0-0 17, Mason 6-10 2-2 15, Tobiason 6-9 3-3 19, Wallace 1-5 2-2 4, Durodola 2-3 0-0 4, Bryant 0-0 2-3 2, Gilyard 1-2 0-0 2, Keita 0-0 0-0 0, Gal 2-2 0-0 4, Mahoney 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 34-57 12-14 95.

Halftime–Temple 47-24. 3-Point Goals_St. Francis 8-23 (Wicks 5-8, Harrison 1-2, Martino 1-3, Payne 1-3, Papadatos 0-1, Moncrief 0-2, Z.Russell 0-4), Temple 15-25 (Ford 5-5, Griffiths 5-8, Tobiason 4-5, Mason 1-4, Gilyard 0-1, Wallace 0-2). Fouled Out–Liberis. Rebounds–St. Francis (PA) 22 (Liberis, Wicks 6), Temple 26 (Ford 6). Assists–St. Francis 14 (Z.Russell 7), Temple 23 (Mason 9). Total Fouls–St. Francis 15, Temple 12. A–2,043

PSU Altoona falls

The Penn State Altoona men’s basketball team fell to 5-5 overall on Saturday, losing at home to Penn State Behrend, 68-61, in an Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference game inside the Adler Arena.

Braelen Cage led PSU Altoona with 16 points as the team fell to 0-2 in the AMCC. Teammates Nehemiah Frye added 14 points, Rasheed Daniels 10 points and 10 rebounds from Michael Baskerville.

Penn State Altoona is off until Saturday, Jan. 3, with a game at Regent University in Virginia.