14, 2014
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) - Nik Stauskas scored 13 of his 21 points in the second half, and Michigan remained unbeaten in Big Ten play with an 80-67 victory over Penn State on Tuesday night.
The Wolverines (12-4, 4-0) led 47-45 when a 3-pointer by Stauskas started a 19-5 run that gave Michigan a comfortable advantage. Derrick Walton added 16 points for the Wolverines, and Glenn Robinson III scored 15.
D.J. Newbill and Tim Frazier scored 17 points apiece for Penn State (9-9, 0-5), but those two backcourt standouts weren't enough against a balanced Michigan team. The Wolverines have won six straight, all without star big man Mitch McGary, who is out indefinitely with a back injury.
Michigan and rival Michigan State are the Big Ten's only teams without a conference loss.
Michigan led by as many as 14 in the first half, but it was 40-33 at halftime, and the Nittany Lions hung around for a while. With the Wolverines ahead by only two, Stauskas connected from beyond the arc to make it 50-45. Newbill answered with a jumper, but Michigan scored the next nine points, including a three-point play by Caris LeVert and an alley-oop dunk by Robinson from LeVert that made it 59-47.
Walton, a freshman, has been gaining confidence after taking over the point guard duties when Trey Burke went to the NBA. Walton made a big driving layup at the end of Michigan's win at Nebraska last week, and he scored the first eight points of Tuesday's game on two 3-pointers and a layup.
Michigan led 8-0, and at that point Penn State had four turnovers and only one shot attempt. After a 3-pointer by Spike Albrecht and a dunk by Jordan Morgan, the Wolverines led 30-18.
Penn State upset Michigan in February for one of its two Big Ten victories last season. The Nittany Lions never led Tuesday. Frazier did have six assists, passing Dan Earl for second place on Penn State's career list. Frazier has 576.
Donovan Jack scored 12 points for Penn State. Jon Horford gave Michigan a boost inside with 11 points and seven rebounds.
Michigan will now begin a much tougher stretch of its conference schedule. The Wolverines play at Wisconsin on Saturday, then host Iowa before the showdown at Michigan State on Jan. 25.