Marcus Carr had 27 points, nine assists and six rebounds to lead Minnesota past Penn State 75-69 on Wednesday in Minneapolis.
Daniel Oturu scored 26 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for the Golden Gophers (10-7, 4-3 Big Ten).
Minnesota, which won its fifth in a row over the Nittany Lions, upped its home record to 9-1.
Myreon Jones and Seth Lundy scored 15 points apiece and Lamar Stevens added 14 for Penn State (12-5, 2-4). The Nittany Lions took their third consecutive loss.
Stevens hit a turnaround jumper from the corner to tie the game at 29 with 7:47 left in the first half.
However, Stevens then picked up his second personal foul, and Oturu went to the free throw and missed both. After an offensive rebound, Oturu knocked down the next two foul shots, and Minnesota went ahead 31-29.
The Nittany Lions responded with a 10-0 run capped by a layup by Lundy for a 39-31 advantage.
The Golden Gophers tightened up defensively and closed within 43-42 when Carr hit two free throws with 1:12 left in the half.
Penn State, which was led by Lundy's 13 points, held a 46-44 lead at halftime.
Carr paced Minnesota with 17 points by halftime.
An 8-0 Penn State spurt early in the second half pushed the lead to 54-46.
The play soon became even more physical, and Oturu and Penn State's Mike Watkins were each whistled for a technical following a skirmish with 13:53 remaining. Oturu was fouled by Jamari Wheeler before the technicals were given out, and he hit 1 of 2 to cut the deficit to 58-54.
The Nittany Lions later went through a drought with 13 straight misses, and Minnesota went ahead 64-59 with 6:47 left.
Oturo scored in the paint and added a trey with 3:45 remaining as the Golden Gophers extended their advantage to 69-61.
With Penn State trailing 71-64 with less than two minutes remaining, Jones and Lundy each missed jumpers on consecutive possessions, and the Golden Gophers held on.
--Field Level Media
Penn St. | Minnesota | |
Myreon Jones 15 | Scoring | Marcus Carr 27 |
Jamari Wheeler 4 | Assists | Marcus Carr 9 |
Myreon Jones 5 | Rebounds | Daniel Oturu 14 |
Lamar Stevens 4 | Free Throws Made | Marcus Carr 10 |
Mike Watkins 2 | Steals | Gabe Kalscheur 2 |
John Harrar 2 | Blocks | Daniel Oturu 2 |