Nov. 14, 2014

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (AP) - Behind a trio of double-digit scorers, Penn State men's basketball (1-0) earned a 61-48 season-opening victory against Morgan State (0-1) Friday evening at the Bryce Jordan Center.

Senior D.J. Newbill (Philadelphia, Pa.) scored 17 points, while freshman Shep Garner (Chester, Pa.) added 14.

Geno Thorpe scored 11 for Penn State which sank 21 of 48 shots (43.8 percent). The Lions were 5 of 13 from 3-point range but four of them came in the second half to help them pull away from the Bears.

Morgan State was led by Cedric Blossom's 10 points and Blake Bozeman's 9.

The Bears shot just 18 of 58 from the field and were only 3 of 18 on their 3-point attempts.

Newbill also pulled down seven rebounds for Penn State. Sophomore Brandon Taylor (Tabernacle, N.J.) led the Lions with nine.

Tied at 4-4 in the opening half, Morgan State used a 12-4 run to go up by as many as eight, 16-8, with 9:41 remaining in the frame. Penn State rallied back with a 12-2 stretch to lift the Nittany Lions on top, 21-18, with six minutes left in the period. The Bears answered with a 5-2 strike to keep the frame knotted, 23-23, but PSU regrouped with an 8-2 run to go up by as many as six, 31-25, heading into the intermission.

Garner came out firing to start the second half with his first 3-pointer for a nine-point Penn State lead.

Bolstering the lead to as many as 16 in the second half, the Nittany Lions did not let the advantage dip below 10 as PSU powered to a 61-48 win.

Next up, Penn State welcomes Fordham to the court Sunday, Nov. 16. Tip time is set for 5:06 p.m. in the Bryce Jordan Center.