Lions taken down by Gophers
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MINNEAPOLIS -- Sixth-year senior Eric Curry scored a career-high 22 points, Payton Willis scored 13 of his 18 in the second half and Minnesota beat Penn State, 76-70, on Saturday night to snap a five-game losing streak.
Willis made 3 of 4 from 3-point range and finished with 10 assists and six rebounds. E.J. Stephens scored 13 points -- going 5 of 6 from the free-throw line in the final 2 minutes -- and Luke Loewe added nine of his 11 after halftime for Minnesota (12-10, 3-10 Big Ten).
Sam Sessoms scored six points in a 98-second span to give Penn State (9-12, 4-9) a 67-65 lead with 3:45 to play, but Loewe answered with a layup 25 seconds later to spark an 11-3 closing run. The Nittany Lions shot just 1 of 5 from the field and committed three of their 13 turnovers during that stretch.
Sessoms led Penn State with 18 points. Seth Lundy shot 6 of 9 from the field, 4 of 5 from 3-point range and finished with 16 points and John Harrar added 12 points, nine rebounds and four assists.
Penn State has lost three in a row and five of its last six.
Minnesota plays at No. 16 Ohio State on Tuesday. Penn State returns home to play Tuesday against Michigan State.
PENN ST. (9-12): Harrar 6-8 0-0 12, Lundy 6-9 0-0 16, Dread 3-3 0-0 9, Johnson 1-4 0-0 3, Pickett 4-12 2-3 10, Sessoms 8-15 2-2 18, Scott 1-1 0-2 2, White 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 29-53 4-7 70.
MINNESOTA (12-10): Battle 3-7 0-0 8, Curry 10-19 1-1 22, Loewe 4-9 3-3 11, Stephens 3-7 5-6 13, Willis 6-11 3-3 18, Sutherlin 2-5 0-0 4, Daniels 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-58 12-13 76.
Halftime--36-36. 3-Point Goals--Penn St. 8-15 (Lundy 4-5, Dread 3-3, Johnson 1-3, Pickett 0-2, Sessoms 0-2), Minnesota 8-16 (Willis 3-4, Battle 2-4, Stephens 2-4, Curry 1-1, Loewe 0-3). Rebounds--Penn St. 34 (Harrar 9), Minnesota 17 (Willis 6). Assists--Penn St. 16 (Pickett 6), Minnesota 20 (Willis 10). Total Fouls--Penn St. 14, Minnesota 10. A--9,948 (14,625).
Pitt nips NC State
PITTSBURGH -- John Hugley had 21 points and 10 rebounds and Ithiel Horton scored four key points in the final 17 seconds to lead Pittsburgh to a 71-69 victory over NC State on Saturday.
A layup by Horton gave Pitt a 67-63 lead with 17 seconds remaining then Thomas Allen hit a 3-pointer to draw the Wolfpack within one. NC State sent Horton to the line with nine seconds remaining and he hit both for a 69-66 lead. Both teams fouled on the ensuing possessions and time ran out on the Wolfpack.
Horton and Jamarius Burton scored 17 points each for Pittsburgh. Hugley made 13 of 15 free throws, while Horton was 4 for 4 and Burton 6 for 6 from the line. They were the only Panthers to attempt a free throw, finishing a combined 23 of 25. NC State made 14 of 16 free throws and both teams shot 40% overall.
Dereon Seabron led NC State (10-16, 3-12 ACC) with 17 points and Jericole Hellems added 10. Terquavion Smith, who averages 15.5 points per game, scored six on 2-of-12 shooting.
The Panthers (10-16, 5-10) opened the second half with an extended 19-4 run in which Horton scored seven points and Mouhamadou Gueye added five points. Now trailing 45-35, the Wolfpack bounced back with eight straight points, including two 3-pointers by Smith.
After that exchange the teams stayed within five points of each other the remainder of the game.
NC State had won 11 in a row in the series, dating to Jan. 4, 2014, but eight of those wins were by six points or fewer.
NC STATE (10-16): Gibson 2-2 0-0 4, Hellems 3-7 2-2 10, Morsell 3-8 0-0 6, Seabron 5-10 7-9 17, T.Smith 2-12 0-0 6, Dowuona 1-3 3-3 5, Allen 4-9 2-2 14, Hayes 3-7 0-0 7. Totals 23-58 14-16 69.
PITTSBURGH (10-16): Gueye 3-8 0-0 8, Hugley 4-11 13-15 21, Burton 5-11 6-6 17, Horton 6-14 4-4 17, Odukale 2-6 0-0 4, Jeffress 1-3 0-0 2, Ezeakudo 0-0 0-0 0, Collier 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 22-55 23-25 71.
Halftime--NC State 31-26. 3-Point Goals--NC State 9-24 (Allen 4-7, Hellems 2-3, T.Smith 2-8, Hayes 1-2, Seabron 0-1, Morsell 0-3), Pittsburgh 4-14 (Gueye 2-3, Burton 1-1, Horton 1-5, Jeffress 0-1, Odukale 0-1, Hugley 0-3). Fouled Out--Dowuona, Gueye. Rebounds--NC State 22 (T.Smith 7), Pittsburgh 40 (Hugley 10). Assists--NC State 11 (T.Smith 6), Pittsburgh 12 (Hugley 6). Total Fouls--NC State 18, Pittsburgh 15. A--8,027 (12,508).
Flash fall short
LORETTO -- Mezie Offurum had 14 points and Josh Reaves made two foul shots with 11 seconds remaining to help Mount St. Mary's hold off Saint Francis, 54-52, on Saturday.
Jaylin Gibson had 13 points and six rebounds for the Mountaineers (12-12, 8-4 Northeast Conference). Reaves had eight points off the bench.
Marlon Hargis had 13 points and eight rebounds to pace the Red Flash (8-17, 4-10). Josh Cohen added 10 points and 10 rebounds. Maxwell Land had 10 points.
The Mountaineers improved to 2-0 against the Flash on the season. Mount St. Mary's defeated Saint Francis, 71-54, on Jan. 29.
MOUNT ST. MARY'S (12-12): M.Jefferson 2-5 0-3 4, Offurum 5-10 4-7 14, Opoku 1-3 2-2 4, Benjamin 1-4 4-5 6, Thomas 1-8 0-0 3, Leffew 1-7 0-0 2, Reaves 2-4 2-2 8, Gibson 5-9 2-5 13, Cordilia 0-0 0-0 0, Barton 0-0 0-2 0. Totals 18-50 14-26 54.
ST. FRANCIS (8-17): Cohen 3-9 4-6 10, Flagg 0-0 0-0 0, Dixon-Conover 4-14 1-2 9, McCabe 1-4 2-4 5, Land 4-13 2-2 10, Hargis 4-4 3-3 13, Harrison 1-3 1-2 3, Ruggery 0-2 2-3 2, Coleman 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 17-51 15-22 52.
Halftime--St. Francis 27-19. 3-Point Goals--Mount St. Mary's 4-14 (Reaves 2-4, Thomas 1-2, Gibson 1-3, Offurum 0-1, Benjamin 0-2, Leffew 0-2), St. Francis 3-12 (Hargis 2-2, McCabe 1-3, Harrison 0-1, Land 0-1, Ruggery 0-1, Dixon-Conover 0-4). Rebounds--Mount St. Mary's 34 (M.Jefferson, Gibson 6), St. Francis 31 (Cohen 10). Assists--Mount St. Mary's 7 (Thomas, Gibson 2), St. Francis 7 (Flagg, Dixon-Conover 2). Total Fouls--Mount St. Mary's 19, St. Francis 22. A--799 (3,500).