Penn State's defense-first mantra continues to pay off. The Nittany Lions frustrated Wright State all afternoon at the Bryce Jordan Center and pulled away for a 72-50 win on Saturday in State College, Pa.

Shep Garner led Penn State (6-3) with 17 points. Payton Banks added 15 and Josh Reaves and Lamar Stevens notched 12 apiece for the Nittany Lions, who led for all but 56 seconds and won their fourth straight.

Mark Alstork led Wright State (6-3) with 15 points and Justin Mitchell and Steven Daves added nine points each.

Mitchell grabbed 11 rebounds for the Raiders, who pulled even near the midway point and trailed just 29-26 at halftime. It was Wright State's second straight loss.

Penn State forward Mike Watkins was particularly effective. The 6-foot-9 forward finished with nine rebounds, eight blocked shots and a steal despite playing limited minutes because of foul trouble.

Meanwhile, the Raiders struggled to shoot the ball early and often. They made just 23 percent of their shots from the field in the first half and went nearly four minutes without a bucket while Penn State jumped out to a 22-10 lead.

But with Watkins on the bench in foul trouble, Wright State eventually snapped its pointless streak. Davis drained a 3-pointer with 6:33 left to spark a 13-4 run and the Raiders tied the score at 26 on two Alstork free throws.

Banks put Penn State up 29-26 with a layup and ensuing foul shot and Penn State used a 13-2 run to take control at the start of the second half.

Wright State's Grant Benzinger cut Penn State's lead to 13 with a tip-in with 14:42 left, but the Raiders couldn't get any closer. Penn State outscored Wright State 25-18 in the final 13:42.