Dec. 10, 2011
PITTSBURGH (AP) - Eric Evans scored 20 points to lead Duquesne over Penn State 66-59 on Saturday night.
The Dukes (6-4) finally began to distance themselves from the Nittany Lions (6-5) with a 9-0 run early in the second half. Duquesne took advantage of four Penn State turnovers in that span, pushing the pace and finally getting to the basket for layups.
Jerry Jones added 14 points for Duquesne, while Sean Johnson scored 10.
Tim Frazier led Penn State with 15 points and six assists. It was the Nittany Lions' third straight loss.
Down 39-37 when the run started, Duquesne surged to a 48-39 lead after T.J. McConnell stole the ball from Penn State sophomore Matt Glover and found Jerry Jones for a layup. Penn State cut Duquesne's lead to four on a Jermaine Marshall 3-pointer with 40 seconds left, but couldn't get any closer.
It was a stark difference from the end of the first half, where Duquesne started relying almost solely on 3-point shots. The Dukes made just two of their last 10 shots in the first half, both inside the arc. The other eight attempts all were 3-pointers. Duquesne averages about 20 3-point attempts a game and tried 16 in the first half Saturday, hitting just three.
The Nittany Lions had issues with the Dukes' active defense. Penn State averaged 13.1 turnovers entering Saturday's game, but committed 23 against Duquesne, including two in the game's final 21 seconds.
The Dukes turned those miscues into 22 points.