STATE COLLEGE —
As Penn State watched its 12-point halftime lead over Army dwindle to just two in a matter of eight minutes, Patrick Chambers’ signature positive energy kicked into high gear.
“We just took a big punch but we have to get off the floor and punch back and we have to continue to fight and don’t get down on each other,” the Nittany Lions coach said he told his squad during a timeout.
“Find the energy. We can’t get nervous and fold the tents, just keep grinding and get a stop. That’s what we did.”
The Nittany Lions held off a strong second-half surge by the Black Knights, downing Army 78-70 Saturday behind D.J. Newbill’s 19 points and Jermaine Marshall’s 16.
Penn State (5-4) led by as much as 15 in the first half only to see its lead cut to two with 12 minutes remaining in the game. Army went cold from there, however, going more than seven minutes without a basket.
Ross Travis added 14 points and 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the season, and freshman guard Brandon Taylor added 14 points as the Nittany Lions had four players score in double digits.
“That’s big,” said Newbill. “That’s one thing we try to do is share the ball and play with confidence. If a guy gets an open shot, just stick it. That’s what coach tells us to do and that’s what we were doing.”
West Virginia 68, Virginia Tech 67: At Morgantown, W.Va., West Virginia’s Juwan Staton made a layup with 5 seconds left Saturday to hand the Mountaineers a 68-67 victory over Virginia Tech, but it was the bench that came through for coach Bob Huggins’ bunch, outscoring the Hokies’ reserves 36-4.
Erick Green (23 points) missed a last-second jumper for Virginia Tech’s (7-1) first loss of the season. West Virginia is 4-3.
Mount Aloysius 99, Penn State-Behrend 97: At Erie, Mount Aloysius took over sole possession of first place in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference with a 99-97 double-overtime win at Penn State-Behrend.
Mount Aloysius senior Demetrius Davis hit a 3-pointer with 4.7 seconds to go in regulation to force an 80-80 tie at the end of regulation.
A Dameon Turner rebound and basket to start the second overtime gave the Mounties an advantage they would not relinquish.
Jeff Stem led Mount Aloysius (6-1) with a game-high 31 points, including 5-for-11 on 3-pointers. Davis added 24 points, and Turner chipped in 10 points.
Mount Aloysius freshman Johnathan LeGrande, a 6-foot-11 center, had nine points and 10 rebounds. He also had a key block in the second overtime.
Penn State-Behrend was topped by Russ Conley with 31 points and 13 rebounds.
Mount Aloysius 66, Penn State-Behrend 62: At Erie, Mount Aloysius got back on the winning track by defeating Penn State-Behrend.
The teams traded baskets late in the game, until Lindsy Sammarco drained a 3-pointer with just over one minute remaining that gave Mount Aloysius a 62-59 edge. Sammarco made a string of free throws to set the final score.
Becky Bard finished with 26 points and six steals. Sammarco added 17 points and Teddi Burkett pulled down 10 rebounds.
Colgate 67, St. Francis 62: At Hamilton, N.Y., St. Francis suffered another road loss, the latest a setback at Colgate.
After being fouled on a 3-point attempt, Alexa Hayward stepped to the free-throw line with the Red Flash down by three points and six seconds remaining in regulation but the sophomore missed her first two attempts and the Red Flash (4-4) lost a third consecutive game.
The Raiders (4-5) connected on 10 3-pointers and got 19 points off the bench from Catherine Lewis. Alli Williams led the Red Flash with 18 points and 13 rebounds.
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