The lead dwindled from 17, to 10, to four, until the MSU men’s basketball team found themselves in familiar territory — another tightly contested game at Penn State’s Bryce Jordan Center.
With MSU leading 74-72 with less than 30 seconds remaining in the game, Penn State guard Talor Battle drove to his left from the top of the key.
Senior center Goran Suton stepped up, reached in and knocked the ball away and sophomore guard Durrell Summers picked up the loose ball and was fouled. Summers calmly made both free throws as the No. 7 Spartans held on for a 78-73 win and escaped State College, Pa., with their 10th straight win and a still-perfect conference record of 4-0.
Junior forward Raymar Morgan led the Spartans (14-2 overall) with 17 points, while sophomore guard Kalin Lucas finished with 15 points and four assists. Suton scored 13 points and grabbed 14 rebounds and Summers finished with 10 points.
Forward Jamelle Cornley, who promised the Penn State student section a victory before the game, finished with a game-high 26 points for the Nittany Lions (13-5, 2-3) while Battle had 20 for Penn State, which fought its way back after being down by a game-high 17 points early in the second half.
A Suton layup put MSU up 55-38 with 14:21 remaining and the Spartans held on to their comfortable lead for most of the half, leading by as many 12 with 5:35 to go.
But two successful free throws and a three-pointer by Penn State’s Stanley Pringle, followed by a Battle layup made the score 69-65, forcing MSU to take a timeout with 3:33 remaining.
The Spartans came out and missed their next three shots, and a lay-in by Cornley put Penn State within two with about two minutes to go.
Five consecutive makes from the charity stripe by Lucas and two successful ?free throws for Penn State’s Battle kept MSU up by two, 74-72, before Summers picked up the loose ball caused by Suton’s strip.
The Spartans outrebounded the Nittany Lions 39-22, 15 of which came on the offensive end. After making four three-pointers in the first half, MSU went 0-of-7 beyond the arc in the second half.
In the opening minutes, the Spartans jumped out to an 8-0 lead before Battle scored eight of Penn State’s next 13 points to give the Nittany Lions a 13-12 lead.
A baseline jumper and three-pointer by Summers put the Spartans back on top, and three-pointers by Suton, sophomore guard Chris Allen and Lucas extended MSU’s lead to 42-29 heading into halftime.
Penn State opened the second half with seven quick points to cut MSU’s lead into single digits, but the Spartans dominated the glass as easy baskets from offensive rebounds helped them rebuild their lead.
The Spartans play next at 4 p.m. Saturday against Illinois at Breslin Center.
Prior to tip-off, MSU will retire the No. 42 jersey of former Spartan great Morris Peterson.
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