Lamar Stevens scored 21 of his game-high 25 points in the second half and grabbed 10 rebounds as Penn State defeated host Duquesne 73-67 Wednesday night in a controversial finish at Pittsburgh.
Rasir Bolton added 16 points and Myles Dread scored 12 for the Nittany Lions (6-5).
Eric Williams Jr. scored 21 points and Sincere Carry had 15 for the Dukes (8-3), who had a four-game winning streak snapped. Duquesne had also won eight in a row at home and 13 straight against nonconference opponents at home.
Stevens made a bank shot with 1:39 left to break a 65-all tie.
Both teams came up empty on their next couple of possessions before Williams made two free throws with 10.2 seconds left to tie it at 67.
Stevens took the inbounds pass and drove all the way to the basket, with Duquesne's Michael Hughes called for a blocking foul in the lane with 5.2 seconds left.
That enraged Dukes coach Keith Dambrot, who was called for a technical foul. After continuing to argue, Dambrot was assessed a second technical and was ejected.
Bolton made all four technical foul shots to give the Nittany Lions a 71-67 lead, and Stevens then made his two free throws for the final margin.
With Duquesne trailing 55-49 with 7:11 remaining, Carry made two free throws to spark a 10-0 run over the next 1:05 as the Dukes regained the lead. That run included three-point plays by Williams and Tavian Dunn-Martin and two free throws from Hughes.
Hughes, the Dukes' leading scorer at 13.7 points per game, returned after missing three games with a knee injury. He totaled 10 points in just 15 minutes.
Williams had 13 points in the first half, making all three of his 3-point attempts, and Carry scored 10 as the Dukes took a 39-32 lead into the intermission. Dread scored nine for Penn State in the first half, making 3 of 4 from 3-point range.
--Field Level Media
Penn St. | Duquesne | |
Lamar Stevens 25 | Scoring | Eric Williams Jr. 21 |
Josh Reaves 3 | Assists | Sincere Carry 6 |
Mike Watkins 12 | Rebounds | Marcus Weathers 7 |
Lamar Stevens 10 | Free Throws Made | Sincere Carry 8 |
Josh Reaves 4 | Steals | Sincere Carry 6 |
Trent Buttrick 1 | Blocks | Michael Hughes 1 |