National Basketball Association
Penn St. 66, Minnesota 63
When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, March 6, 2011
Where: Williams Arena, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Officials:
# Ed Hightower, # Steve McJunkins, # Ted Valentine
Attendance:
14625
By SportsDirect Inc.
Seniors Talor Battle and Jeff Brooks combined for 42 points, including go-ahead 3-pointers down the stretch, as Penn State pulled out an exciting 66-63 victory over host Minnesota on Sunday afternoon in the Big Ten regular-season finale.
Battle who entered 42 points shy of Jesse Arnelle’s school record of 2,139 points, finished with 22 points and four 3-pointers as the Nittany Lions (16-13, 9-9 Big Ten) swept the season series by winning here for just the second time in 18 tries.
Blake Hoffarber scored 17 points in his final home game for Minnesota (17-13, 6-12). Trevor Mbakwe added 10 points and 14 rebounds as the Golden Gophers lost their fifth straight and nine of ten.
Battle drained his 3-pointer from the left wing after coming off a screen that gave Penn State a 59-57 lead with 1:38 to play. After Hoffarber converted a floater, Brooks hit a wide-open 3-pointer from the top of the circle with 57 seconds left.
Rodney Williams then split two free throws and Minnesota had a chance for the lead, but Ralph Sampson III airballed an ill-advised 3-pointer from the top of the key with 30 seconds to play.
The Lions converted enough free throws in the waning seconds to withstand a late 3-pointer from Hoffarber, whose potential tying shot from the arc with two seconds left bounced off the front of the rim.
Both teams will be playing in the first round of the conference tournament Wednesday, and winning four games in four days will likely be the only way either will get its name called for the NCAAs on Selection Sunday.
Top Game Performances
Penn St. |
|
Minnesota |
Taylor Battle 22 |
Scoring |
Blake Hoffarber 17 |
Tim Frazier 6 |
Assists |
Maverick Ahanmisi 4 |
Jeff Brooks 7 |
Rebounds |
Trevor Mbakwe 14 |
Taylor Battle 6 |
Free Throws Made |
Trevor Mbakwe 4 |
Jermaine Marshall 2 |
Steals |
Rodney Williams 3 |
Jeff Brooks 3 |
Blocks |
Ralph Sampson III 2 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Penn St.
|
66 |
45.1 |
8-20 |
12-12 |
11 |
27 |
3 |
5 |
|
Minnesota
|
63 |
43.4 |
2-15 |
15-19 |
14 |
25 |
4 |
5 |
|