Dec. 5, 2012
VIDEO: Postgame Media Interviews
PHILADELPHIA, PA.; DEC. 5, 2012 - Penn State (4-4) couldn't withstand a barrage of 16 La Salle three-pointers Wednesday night at The Palestra in Philadelphia as the Explorers (5-1) out-scored the Nittany Lions 48-9 at the three-point arc to claim an 82-57 victory.
Jermaine Marshall (Etters, Pa.) led Penn State in scoring for the fourth straight game posting 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting. Ross Travis (Chaska, Minn.) nearly posted a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds, while Philadelphia native D.J. Newbill contributed 12 points, six rebounds and five assists. Sasa Borovnjak (Belgrade, Serbia) played his best game of the season logging eight points and eight rebounds.
But, Penn State had no answer for La Salle's Tyreek Duren who posted a game-high 29 points on 9-of-13 shooting (4-of-7 from three) and 7-of-8 at the foul line. Sam Mills added 14 points on 4-of-8 from three and Ramon Galloway had 14 on 3-of-8 from three as La Salle shot 16-of-31 (51.6%) from the arc.
La Salle broke open a four-point halftime lead, 38-34, shooting 54 percent from the floor and 8-of-14 from three in the second half, using a 25-5 run to blow the game open and lead by as many as 27. The Explorers led 43-41 with 15:33 to play when they used a 14-2 run to open a 57-43 lead at 9:26 following a Duren three and a five-minute Lion scoring drought.
The lead quickly shot over 20 as La Salle out-scored the Lions 11-3 over the next two minutes and held a 68-46 lead after a D.J. Peterson three with 7:34 to play. A pair of buckets from Newbill and a free throw from Marshall got Penn State back within 17, but La Salle pushed the lead back over 20 with five free throws and then opened the margin with three late threes.
The Nittany Lions played their best offensive half of the season in the first half shooting 56 percent from the floor and 3-of-6 from three, but trailed the Explorers 38-34 at the half after La Salle hit 8-of-17 from three in the first 20 minutes. Duren led La Salle with 15 points on 3-of-5 from three and Mills added nine on 3-of-6 from the arc.
Penn State got big scoring first halves from two unlikely sources as Travis came out red hot and finished 5-of-7 from the floor for 10 first half points and Borovnjak added eight points on 3-of-3 shooting. Marshall led the Lions with 13 first half points on 4-of-6 shooting.
The teams both came out red-hot shooting over 60 percent for the first 10 minutes of the half and were tied at 23 after a Marshall three. The Explorers used a 10-0 run to take a 33-23 lead with 7:00 to play as Mills hit back-to-back threes. Marshall answered with his own three.
The Lions closed the half on an 8-2 run finished by a pair of Borovnjak buckets in the final 1:30 to trail by four at the break.
Penn State will return to the Bryce Jordan Center on Saturday to take on Army in a 4:00 p.m. tip. The game will be televised by the Big Ten Network.
For all the latest information, notes, pictures and related links on Penn State basketball follow Associate Athletic Communications Director Brian Siegrist (@PSUSTRETCH) and the official Penn State men's basketball handle (@PennStateMBB) on Twitter and check GoPSUsports.com. The Nittany Lions are also on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pennstatebasketball.
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