State College, Pa.  – A late comeback by Penn State spoiled a golden opportunity for the Nebraska basketball team to capture a road win, as the Nittany Lions posted a 58-54 win Thursday evening.

Nebraska (9-9, 1-5 B1G) led 51-47 after a Deverell Biggs basket with 2:24 left, but Penn State closed the game on an 11-3 run to earn their first conference win and hand the Huskers a stinging defeat.

The Huskers clung to a 51-50 lead, but Tim Frazier stole the ball from Biggs and found D.J. Newbill for a basket, and he was fouled on the play. Newbill, who finished with a game-high 16 points, converted the 3-point play to make it 53-31. After an errant shot on Nebraska’s next possession, John Johnson’s 3-pointer with 18 seconds left gave the Nittany Lions (10-10, 1-6) a five-point lead.

Nebraska still had chances in the final seconds, as Terran Petteway’s 3-pointer with 12 seconds left pulled the Huskers within 56-54. On the inbounds, pass, the Huskers’ pressure forced a PSU turnover, giving the Nebraska one final opportunity. The Huskers were unable to get off a shot, as the 14^thturnover of the evening gave the Nittany Lions the ball before Frazier was fouled. The fifth-year senior hit both free throws to ice PSU’s first Big Ten win, as he finished with 11 points, nine rebounds and six assists.

Ray Gallegos joined Petteway in double figures with 10 points, as Nebraska shot just 35.8 percent. PSU shoot just 35 percent and were out-rebounded 40-35, but turned the 14 Husker miscues into 22 points.

In the first half, the Huskers did an excellent job defensively, holding the Nittany Lions to 24 percent shooting in building a 29-22 halftime lead. Early on, Ray Gallegos got the Huskers going, hitting a pair of 3-pointers to give the Huskers an early 9-8 lead. The teams would trade baskets until Nebraska took control late in the half with a 10-2 spurt. Walter Pitchford’s dunk got the spurt going, while Petteway added five points in the run before Deverell Biggs’ 3-pointer gave the Huskers a 26-17 lead with 4:38 left in the half.

Penn State would fight back behind Johnson, who had 10 points off the bench for the hosts in the first half, as he scored five straight to cut the lead to 26-22, but Pitchford, who finished with eight points and seven rebounds, closed the half with a big 3-pointer to beat the buzzer.

Pitchford hit his second 3-pointer of the game to extend the Husker lead to 32-24, but Penn Stare would respond with a 7-0 run to pull within 32-31 after a Newbill jumper. The Huskers would come back with a 6-0 run of their own, as Shields’ 3-pointer – his first shot attempt of the day – ended the run, and Nebraska pushed the lead to 38-31 after a Smith tip-in with 12:28 left.

Gallegos with a jumper to extend the lead to 45-39 with 6:44 left, but Penn State would run off the next eight points, tying the score at 45 after a Taylor putback with 5:16 left and taking the lead for the first time this half on a Newbill drive with 4:19 left.

Once again, it was Shields with the big shot, as the sophomore’s 3-pointer from the corner neded the run and gave Nebraska a 48-47 lead. The Huskers pushed the lead to 51-47 after a Biggs bucket, but could not put Penn State away

The Huskers return home Sunday when they take on Minnesota. Tipoff is at 5 p.m. at Pinnacle Bank Arena and will be carried on the Husker Sports Network and televised by BTN.

Notes:
*-Terran Petteway reached double figures for the 15^th straight game, the longest streak since Aleks Maric had 17 straight spanning the 2006-07 and 2007-08 season.
*-Shavon Shields reached double figures in rebounds for the second time in his career with 10. It is the third straight game where he has had a season-high in rebounds.
*-Penn State’s 22 points off turnovers was an opponent high for the season.
*-Nebraska lost for the first time this season when out-shooting an opponent.

The Nebraska basketball team looks to build off a win over No. 17 Ohio State on Thursday night, as the Huskers travel to Penn State.

Tipoff is set for 7:02 p.m. (CT) and the game will be carried nationally on ESPNU (DirecTV Ch. 208, Dish Ch. 141, Ch. 235 on Time Warner Cable; Ch. 220 on Cox Cable) with Adam Amin and Brooke Weisbrod on the call. The game will also be available on the WatchESPN app for iOS or android devices.

Thursday’s game will also be carried across the state on the 27-station Husker Sports Network with Kent Pavelka and Matt Davison calling all of the action, including flagship stations KLIN (1400 AM/94.5 FM) in Lincoln and KFAB (1110 AM) in Omaha (complete list of affiliates is on page five of the game notes). The game can also be heard on Huskers.com and is available on the Huskers’ app on iOS or android devices, as well as Sirius and XM Radio.

The Huskers (9-8, 1-4 B1G) came through with a strong performance against the Buckeyes, shooting 50 percent from the field against an Ohio State team which was seventh nationally in scoring defense and 22nd nationally in field goal defense. The Huskers, who picked up their first win over a ranked opponent in two years, became only the second team to shoot 50 percent against the Buckeyes this season. Nebraska also did a strong job on the glass, out-rebounding Ohio State, 33-27 and forced 13 turnovers which led to 21 Husker points.

For the Huskers, sophomore Shavon Shields enjoyed a breakout game, as he had been bothered by a knee bruise suffered earlier in the month.  The 6-foot-7 sophomore had 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting, and nine rebounds against the Buckeyes to lead three Huskers in double figures. Fellow sophomore Terran Petteway had 18 points and five rebounds, while Deverell Biggs came off the bench with 11 points and three assists.

Petteway leads three Huskers in double figures at 17.4 points per game to rank fifth in the Big Ten in scoring. The sophomore has reached double figures in 16 of 17 games, including each of the last 14 contests. Of Nebraska’s seven top scorers, only Shields (11.4 ppg) and senior Ray Gallegos (7.9 ppg) were in the rotation last season.

Penn State (9-10, 0-6 B1G) comes into Thursday’s game looking to snap a six-game losing streak following an excruciating 65-64 loss at Purdue on Saturday. PSU had a three-point lead with 16 seconds left, only to see the Boilermakers rally for the win. It is one of three conference losses by three points or less over the last four contests.