Penn State Takes Down Louisiana-Monroe, 54-50Penn State Takes Down Louisiana-Monroe, 54-50

Penn State Takes Down Louisiana-Monroe, 54-50

PENN STATE 54, LOUISIANA - MONROE 50
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QUICK STATSPSUULM
Field Goals18-5520-59
Field Goal %32.733.9
3 FG M-A3-202-13
3 FG %15.015.4
Free Throws15-258-10
Free Throw %60.080.0
Rebounds3147
Assists811
Turnovers818
Blocks123
Steals63

LEADERSPSUULM
PointsTaylor - 16Munnings - 22
ReboundsTaylor - 7Munnings - 10
AssistsTaylor - 3Coppola - 4
StealsGarner - 2Munnings - 2
BlocksDickerson - 7Samuel - 3

NEXT UP
12/19A

at Drexel - 7 p.m.

Dec. 12, 2015

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (AP) -Shots weren't falling for Shep Garner, but words of encouragement and challenges from his teammates kept flying his way.

As Penn State slid deeper into a hole against a team that hadn't beaten a Power 5 team in eight years, Brandon Taylor grabbed Garner in the huddle and told him simply to do something. Garner complied.

He scored his first points in Penn State's 54-50 win over Louisiana-Monroe with 8:48 to play, then put the Nittany Lions ahead for good with a layup and ensuing free throw as part of a 23-13 run the Nittany Lions (7-3) used to close out the game.

Taylor scored 16 points. Two came on a second-chance layup with 11:10 to play that kick-started the comeback run after Penn State's 25-24 halftime advantage disappeared quickly.

Travis Munnings led Louisiana-Monroe (4-4) with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Jamaal Samuel added 11 for the Warhawks, who took a six-point lead with 16:13 to play despite missing top scorer Majok Deng, who sat out with a lower leg injury.

Taylor made two free throws and Donovan Jack added another in the final minute to seal the win. Payton Banks added 10 points for Penn State in its second win in Rec Hall in three days.

But it was Garner's feisty play down the stretch that turned the tide. Before he gave his team the lead, Garner backtracked on defense and swiped the ball from Munnings under the Warhawks' basket. Garner took it the other way and nailed a layup that compounded the momentum Taylor provided with his putback just moments before.

It also roused a crowd of 4,824 that had little to cheer for as the teams traded baskets after long stretches of ineffective shooting in the first half.

Jordan Dickerson had seven blocks for Penn State, who outscored the Warhawks 30-20 in the paint and 16-4 in points off of turnovers.

TIP-INS
Louisiana-Monroe: The Warhawks didn't get much help from their reserves when they actually did get in the game. Louisiana-Monroe scored just two bench points while its starters combined to play 170 minutes.

Penn State: The Nittany Lions led for just 4:44 before Garner's points that gave the Nittany Lions the lead for good.

UP NEXT
Penn State visits Drexel on Saturday.