Penn State 68 Nebraska 65
D.J. Newbill led 13th-seeded Penn State with 26 points and four blocks, and Shep Garner added 19 points as the Nittany Lions were able to hold off the 12th-seeded Nebraska Cornhuskers late in the opening round of the Big Ten tournament in Chicago, Illinois.
Penn State (17-15) ran their lead to as high as 16 points early in the second half, but Terran Petteway and Shavon Shields of Nebraska (13-18) nearly single-handidly kept the game within five or fewer points until the final buzzer sounded, getting within one point several times.
Pettaway would finish with 29 points, and Shields added 20 points and 10 rebounds in the losing effort for the Cornhuskers, who are going home after making the NCAA tournament last season.
Nebraska got within 63-62 after Shields hit two free throws with 3:03 left. Newbill scored on a layup for Penn State and Ross Travis would hit a free throw after to make it a four-point lead for the Nittany Lions with 2:18 remaining.
Petteway hit a free throw and then added two more with 42.7 seconds left after being fouled on a drive, to pull within one point at 66-65.
Newbill missed a shot with about eight seconds left, and the ensuing battle for the ball resulted in a jump ball with the possession arrow going to Penn State.
PSU’s Geno Thorpe caught the inbounds pass and was fouled by Tai Webster, and hit two free throws to push the lead to 68-65 with 4.2 seconds remaining. Shields had one more look before time expired, but his pull-up three from the right wing clanged off the front of the rim.
The win was Penn State’s first conference tournament win since 2011, when they advanced to the finals.
Up next: Penn State will face fifth-seeded Iowa on Thursday afternoon, 25 minutes after the conclusion of the game between Illinois and Michigan at 11 a.m. ET.
