Penn State 61, Morgan State 48: D.J. Newbill banked 17 points, seven rebounds and three assists as the host Nittany Lions held off the upset-minded Bears.

Shep Garner had 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting and contributed a pair of three-pointers for Penn State (1-0). Geno Thorpe came off the bench to score 11 points and John Johnson had six as part of a 21-point effort from the Nittany Lion reserves.

Cedric Blossom scored 10 points, grabbed six rebounds and blocked two shots for Morgan State (0-1). Blake Bozeman had nine points but struggled from long distance with six misses.

Poor shooting by the Nittany Lions in the early goings of the first period allowed Morgan State to creep out in front 16-8, but a 13-2 spurt propelled Penn State to a six-point edge at the 3:19 mark. The Bears got 11 points from their bench and stayed within striking distance, trailing 31-25 at intermission.

Garner capped off a 12-2 run in the second frame with his second three-pointer on the night and Ross Travis added a layup to make it 48-35 inside of nine minutes remaining, but Morgan State would not go away so easily. The Bears trimmed the deficit to 53-43 with 4:30 to go, but Newbill chipped in three free throws and Thorpe tacked on a 3 in the final minutes to seal it for Penn State.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Penn State has won 10 consecutive season openers. ... Seven-footer Jordan Dickerson, who is entering his second season with the Nittany Lions, blocked two shots and had four points off the bench. ... The teams combined for 32 turnovers and Morgan State G Donte Pretlow had five on his own.