Penn State Survives Wild Finish To Put Away Duquesne 73-67
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PITTSBURGH (AP) - Lamar Stevens scored 25 points and Rasir Bolton made three game-winning free throws as Penn State survived a scare from Duquesne to win, 73-67 on Wednesday evening.
After Duquesne's Eric Williams, Jr. made two free throws to tie the game with 10 seconds left, Stevens drove the length of floor and was fouled by Duquesne center Michael Hughes with 5.4 seconds remaining.
Duquesne head coach Keith Dambrot was called for a technical foul for his reaction to the call, then earned another, was ejected and had to be escorted from the floor. Bolton made three of his four free-throws for Dambrot's technicals. Stevens hit his final two shots to tie his season high in points.
Penn State went on a 10-2 run near the middle of the second half to take the lead while Duquesne started the second period on a 1-for-13 cold streak from the floor.
Stevens, who had been held to four points in the first half after getting into foul trouble, came through with 19 points in the second half.
The Dukes battled back, sparked by a steal-and-score by diminutive guard Tavian Dunn-Martin, who finished over larger Penn State guard Rasir Bolton. Moments later, Williams converted a three-point play of his own to put the Dukes up by four.
Williams led the Dukes with 21 points. Duquesne finished 29 of 32 (91 percent) from the free-throw line, while Penn State went just 17-26.
BIG PICTURE
Duquesne: Still has not won a game against a major-conference opponent since beating Pitt on Dec. 2, 2016. The Dukes three losses this season came against such competition, losing at Notre Dame on Nov. 20 and to Pitt on Nov. 30.
Penn State: Continues to struggle with consistency. The Lions beat then-No. 13 Virginia Tech in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge on Nov. 27, but dropped their first two games in conference play and also lost to NC State before needing a strong second-half run to put away the Dukes.
UP NEXT
Duquesne: Continues a season-long stretch of nine games in Pittsburgh by hosting Eastern Kentucky on Saturday afternoon.
Penn State: Will immediately travel to Alabama for a game on Friday night, the Lions' final road non-conference game of the season.
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