Senior forward Brandon Taylor had 16 points and seven rebounds as Penn State registered a 54-50 victory over Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday in nonconference play at State College, Pa.

Senior center Jordan Dickerson blocked a career-best seven shots to go with six points and five rebounds for the Nittany Lions (7-3). Penn State won for the fifth time in six games despite shooting just 32.7 percent from the field.

Freshman forward Travis Munnings had 22 points and 10 rebounds to pace the Warhawks (4-4). Senior forward Jamaal Samuel added 11 points for Louisiana-Monroe, which shot only 33.9 percent from the field and committed 18 turnovers.

The Warhawks were without leading scorer and rebounder Majok Deng for the second straight game due to a lower-leg injury. The senior averages 18.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.

Sophomore guard Shep Garner converted two key three-point plays to help Penn State prevail. Garner's first one with 5:25 left in the game gave the Nittany Lions a 42-40 advantage and his jumper and free throw with 2:17 remaining made it a six-point margin.

A basket by Munnings pulled Louisiana-Monroe with 52-50 with 24 seconds left. Taylor hit two free throws to give Penn State a four-point lead and the Warhawks missed their final three shots.

Louisiana-Monroe trailed by one point at halftime and began the second half with a 9-2 burst to take a 33-27 advantage. The Nittany Lions responded with a 10-4 run and tied the score at 37 on a dunk by Dickerson.

The Warhawks scored eight straight points for a 12-7 lead with 14:34 left in the first half before Penn State scored seven of the next nine points to knot the score. The Nittany Lions led 25-24 at the break despite shooting just 25.8 percent over the opening 20 minutes.