Penn State 64, Duquesne 62: Geno Thorpe recorded a career-high 19 points off the bench, making 11-of-14 free throws as the Nittany Lions held off the visiting Dukes for their seventh straight victory.

Freshman Shep Garner contributed 13 points and four assists for Penn State (9-1), which is off to its best start since 2000-01 and has won seven in a row for the first time since 2007-08. D.J. Newbill had a season-low 11 points and Donovon Jack also scored 11 for the Nittany Lions.

Jordan Stevens led the way with 18 points off the bench for Duquesne (3-3), which came in leading the nation in 3-point shooting percentage (45.8) before making 4-of-19 on Wednesday. TySean Powell had 11 points while Darius Lewis scored nine and grabbed eight rebounds for the Dukes.

Neither team built a lead of more than five in a cold-shooting first half as Stevens’ 3-pointer in the final seconds pulled Duquesne within 29-28 at intermission. Garner drained a 3-pointer before Newbill set up Jordan Dickerson's dunk as Penn State scored the first six of the second half to push its lead to seven.

The Nittany Lions led by as many as 10, but Stevens led the comeback with four baskets and Lewis’ three-point play cut the deficit to 52-51 with 7:59 to go. The Dukes could never tie or take the lead, however, and after a big stop on the defensive end, Micah Mason’s 3-point attempt at the buzzer came up short.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Penn State leads the all-time series 27-19, including 17-4 at home, and have won six of the last seven against the Dukes. … Duquesne went 12-of-21 at the free-throw line. … The Nittany Lions have captured five of the seven during their winning streak by four points or fewer.