Senior forward Michael Young scored 29 points and grabbed nine rebounds, helping Pittsburgh fight off a late challenge by Penn State in an 81-73 win Saturday in the Never Forget Tribute Classic at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

Pittsburgh (8-2) led by as many as 24 points, but Penn State made a second-half run and cut the deficit to seven on a pair of free throws by Payton Banks with 4:48 to play. The Nittany Lions were within five, at 71-66, after a layup from Tony Carr with 2:31 to play.

But Pittsburgh's Sheldon Jeter hit a 3-pointer with 1:28 to play, and the Panthers were able to hit enough foul shots in the final minute to seal the win.

Freshman forward Mike Watkins led Penn State with 17 points and a career-high 15 rebounds, and junior guard Shep Garner finished with 12 points for the Nittany Lions, who dropped their second straight game.

Senior forward Jamel Artis scored 16 points for the Panthers, who took command early. Artis hit a 3-pointer that put Pittsburgh ahead 24-11 with eight minutes left in the first half. Artis hit another 3-pointer with 21 seconds left in the first half, helping the Panthers take a 42-22 lead into halftime.

Penn State (6-4) shot just 25.9 percent from the floor in the first half and never fully recovered.

The Nittany Lions will have more than a week to regroup before traveling to St. John's on Dec. 18. Penn State opens Big Ten play against Northwestern on Dec. 27.

Pittsburgh has three more non-conference tune-ups, starting with a Dec. 17 home game against Rice, before jumping into ACC play against Notre Dame on Dec. 31.