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Penn State keeps Ohio State at bay

Penn State's D.J. Newbill, right, moves toward the paint around Ohio State's LaQuinton Ross during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014 in State College, Pa. (AP Photo/Ralph Wilson)
Penn State's D.J. Newbill, right, moves toward the paint around Ohio State's LaQuinton Ross during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014 in State College, Pa. (AP Photo/Ralph Wilson)

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Penn State Coach Patrick Chambers didn’t think it was the matchup or the fact that it was Senior Night that allowed his Nittany Lions to beat Ohio State again.

No, it was something more basic.

“I think we were mad,” Chambers said, emphasizing that his team had been thumped by Iowa and Nebraska in its previous two games. “It just happened to be Ohio State tonight. We came out and played desperate and with a sense of urgency. And we played angry.”

D.J. Newbill scored 23 points, Tim Frazier added 16 and Penn State held off a late rally by No. 22 Ohio State for a 65-63 victory Thursday.

The Buckeyes (22-7, 9-7 Big Ten) had a chance to win at the end. Coming out of a timeout with 6.8 seconds left, Lenzelle Smith Jr.’s three-pointer rimmed out. The Nittany Lions (14-14, 5-10) grabbed the rebound and time expired.

Ohio State was led by LaQuinton Ross, who scored 19 points. Aaron Craft, plagued by foul trouble most of the game, added 10.

“It was one of those games where two guys pound the ball off the backboard and it bounces out and they make a three on us,” Ohio State Coach Thad Matta said. “Little things like that is kind of the way the game went.”

Penn State swept the season series. The Nittany Lions upset then-No. 23 Ohio State 71-70 in overtime on Jan. 29 in Columbus.

Nittany Lions forward Donovan Jack made a turnaround jumper, was fouled and hit the free throw to give Penn State a 60-55 lead with 1:59 to go.

Ross and Craft each made a pair of free throws, sandwiched around two by Frazier, to pull the Buckeyes to 62-59 with just more than a minute to go.

Frazier pushed Penn State’s lead to five with 39.4 seconds left with a pair of free throws.

After Ross made two more free throws, Shannon Scott stole the inbounds pass and passed to Trey McDonald for a layup that cut it to 64-63.

Penn State missed two free throws on the ensuing possession, but Smith’s shot caromed off the rim and over the backboard, giving the Nittany Lions the ball back with under 10 seconds left.

Frazier was fouled and made one of two at the line, setting up Smith’s last-second attempt from three-point range.

“When we executed what we were supposed to do, it was amazing what happened. We didn’t have the flow that we normally do,” Matta said. “That was the difference. We talked about it and talked about it. We couldn’t get it to where we needed it.”

Frazier, a senior point guard, was recognized before the game as part of Senior Night festivities. He is one of 10 finalists for the Senior CLASS Award, given annually to a student-athlete with notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. Frazier will leave Penn State as the school’s career leader in assists.

Frazier acknowledged that his uneven play early was due to the emotions and nerves of the night.

“It was very emotional. I was basically trying to hold back tears in the beginning. Obviously you tell at the beginning of the game I had so many emotions running through me. Turnovers left and right. Airballs,” he said.

Chambers was happy to see a player who has meant so much to the program get a victory on such a special night.

“He’s an amazing kid. A man now. He’s a man,” Chambers said. “It’s Senior Night. You’ve got family there. You’ve got one game left in this building. You’ve been here five years. You’ve invested time and energy. He puts so much into this program. You can’t blame the guy for being jacked up. I was happy to see us get a win for him.”NO. 7 LOUISVILLE 88, TEMPLE 66

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Russ Smith had 24 points, moving into ninth place on Louisville’s career scoring list, and the seventh-ranked Cardinals (24-4, 13-2 American Athletic Conference) throttled Temple (7-20, 2-13).

Montrezl Harrell added 21 points and freshman Terry Rozier scored a career-high 19 as Louisville capped a perfect February with its seventh consecutive victory. The trio combined to shoot 25 of 34 from the field and nearly outscored Temple all by themselves.

Will Cummings scored 18 points and Quenton DeCosey added 17 for the Owls. Temple has lost 15 of 17 since New Year’s Day, including an eight-game losing streak to start 2014.

DUQUESNE 74, NO. 10 SAINT LOUIS 64

ST. LOUIS - Micah Mason had 22 points, Jerry Jones added 19 and Duquesne surprised No. 10 Saint Louis to snap the Billikens’ school-record 19-game winning streak.

Saint Louis (25-3, 12-1 Atlantic 10) had not lost since dropping a 70-65 decision on Dec. 1 to unbeaten Wichita State, now ranked No. 2 in the country.

Mason, who entered leading the nation in three-point shooting percentage (.554), hit four of five from behind the arc for Duquesne (12-15, 4-10), which beat a top-10 opponent on the road for the fifth time (5-28). The Dukes, who were 14-point underdogs, improved to 25-55 against teams ranked in the top 10.

Dwayne Evans had 10 points and 12 rebounds for Saint Louis. Mike McCall Jr. led the Billikens with 18 points, while Jordair Jett (13 points) and Rob Loe (12 points) also were in double digits.

INDIANA 93, NO. 20 IOWA 86

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Will Sheehey scored 19 of his career-high 30 points in the first half and Stanford Robinson added a career-best 17 to lead Indiana (16-12, 6-9 Big Ten) over No. 20 Iowa in a game that was postponed last week.

Roy Devyn Marble had 20 points and Aaron White added 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Hawkeyes (19-9, 8-7), who have lost three consecutive games.

The Hoosiers scored six consecutive points to take a 77-69 lead when Robinson converted a three-point play. Sheehey dunked to give Indiana an 82-73 advantage with 1:35 remaining.

HOUSTON 77, NO. 21 MEMPHIS 68

HOUSTON - Danuel House had 19 points and Houston closed with a surge to beat No. 21 Memphis.

TaShawn Thomas added 16 points and seven rebounds for the Cougars, who finished on a 14-5 run to win their second consecutive game. Jherrod Stiggers chipped in with 14 points and L.J. Rose had seven points, seven rebounds and 10 assists for Houston (14-14, 6-9 American Athletic Conference).

Michael Dixon Jr. scored 19 points and Shaq Goodwin had 16 points and 10 rebounds for Memphis (21-7, 10-5). Austin Nichols added 12 points.

The Tigers shot just under 47 percent but only 3 of 13 from three-point range and committed 14 turnovers that led to 21 Houston points.

Sports, Pages 22 on 02/28/2014

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