Dec. 05, 2015
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STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) Brandon Taylor is confident if he can get into a rhythm, he can do major damage from any spot on the court.
After spending large portions of Penn State's previous game on the bench in foul trouble, the Nittany Lions forward stayed out of it on Saturday, found his groove and scored a career-high 27 points in an 81-70 win over Eastern Michigan.
He made seven of his team's first 13 points then got hot from long distance to give Penn State a lead it would not relinquish.
Taylor found his 3-point shot midway through the first when he made his first of four 3-pointers to tie it 19-19. He drilled his second moments later to spark a 15-5 run the Nittany Lions (5-2) used to take a 34-24 halftime lead. Meanwhile, the Eagles shot just 4 for 12 over the final 10:45.
Penn State led the entire second half and built a 23-point lead with 11:47 to play. Taylor scored 14 of his 27 points in the second half and added 12 rebounds. The forward played 37 minutes after being limited to two points over 18 minutes in Penn State's win over Boston College on Wednesday.
Payton Banks added 17 points and Shep Garner finished with 16 for the Nittany Lions, who won their third straight.
James Thompson led Eastern Michigan with 18 points. Willie Mangum added 15 for the Eagles (5-3), who had a three-game winning streak snapped.
When the Eagles struggled to get shots to fall inside they opted for longer shots. But they had little luck from 3-point range, too. They began the second half cold, making just 5 of 14 field goals in the first 10 minutes. Five of those misses came from 3-point range.
Penn State's forwards went to work on the other end. Taylor opened the second half with a jumper while Banks and Julian Moore combined for the next nine points. Garner, who led the team with 30 points against Boston College, hit a 3-pointer then added two free throws after Ty Toney fouled him hard on a drive to the net.
It was one of a handful of hard fouls that drew the ire of Penn State players and fans inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
The game got chippy moments later when Eastern Michigan's James Thompson raked Isaiah Washington to the court as Washington tried a layup directly below the hoop. Washington stayed down for a few seconds and Garner got in Thompson's face before his teammates pulled him away. Thompson was assessed a technical foul for which Taylor shot and made both free throws.
TIP-INS
Eastern Michigan: The Eagles continued to create takeaways and extended their double-digit turnovers streak to eight games, forcing 16 Penn State turnovers. But the Nittany Lions endured and became the first team with 15 or more turnovers to beat the Eagles this season.
Penn State: The Nittany Lions won their first game while allowing their opponent to shoot better than 40 percent from the field. The Eagles made 43 percent of their field goals on 23-of-54 shooting.
UP NEXT
Eastern Michigan hosts Rochester on Tuesday.
Penn State visits George Washington on Tuesday.