Penn State holds off Minnesota 66-63
Talor Battle scored 28 points and hit a 3-pointer in a late 8-0 run that propelled Penn State to a 66-63 win over Minnesota on Thursday night.
David Jackson added 13 points and five rebounds for the Nittany Lions (14-11, 7-7), who kept their NCAA tournament hopes alive.
Penn State led most of the game, and Jackson's 3 with just more than 11 minutes left gave them a 10-point lead.
But Minnesota (17-9, 6-8) slowly chipped away at the deficit, then went up 60-57 on Colton Iverson's dunk with 2:09 left.
The Nittany Lions answered with the 8-0 run including Battle's deep 3 with 1:12 left. They were aided by back-to-back turnovers by the Gophers, and Battle's foul shot with 5 seconds left put Penn State up by three.
Blake Hoffarber led the Gophers with 18 points and Trevor Mbakwe added a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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