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Jan. 21, 2015
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Despite a game-high 27 points from D.J. Newbill, Michigan State slipped past Penn State in a 66-60 decision on the road in East Lansing Wednesday evening.
Newbill, the nation's No. 4 scorer, had 18 of his 27 points in the second half and nearly gave the Nittany Lions (12-7, 0-6) their first win since Dec. 22.
Branden Dawson had 12 points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots to help Michigan State outlast Penn State.
Gavin Schilling added 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Spartans (13-6, 4-2 Big Ten). Denzel Valentine scored 11 points and Travis Trice and Matt Costello 10 each.
The Nittany Lions battled back from an eight-point first half deficit to tie the game at 37-37 in the opening part of the second half. Despite keeping it tight, a technical foul on frustrated Penn State coach Patrick Chambers helped Michigan State pull away when the game was tied for the final time at 51.
A short jumper from Valentine with 4:04 left gave the Spartans the lead for good at 53-51. After Chambers was issued a technical during a timeout, Valentine hit 1 of 2 free throws and Bryn Forbes swished a 3-pointer from the left corner. When Trice took advantage of another Penn State turnover, Trice laid the ball in for a 59-51 advantage.
The Nittany Lions answered with five straight points, but Valentine hit Costello for a reverse layup and Trice added another layup after a block by Dawson to build the lead back to seven. After Trice and Newbill each missed a pair of free throws, Michigan State had just enough points to keep its conference title hopes alive.
The Spartans shot 58 percent from the field in the second half after hitting just 32 percent before the break. But both teams finished at 42.6 percent.
Michigan State had edges of 39-26 in rebounds, 16-7 in assists and 5-0 in blocked shots. It needed almost every one of those plays to withstand a terrific last 20 minutes from Newbill, who upped his Big Ten-leading average to 23.2 points per game in league play.