Box Score Boxscore (PDF)UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – D.J. Newbill scored 17 points on 4-of-10 shooting to help Penn State beat Morgan State 61-48 Friday night in the season opener for both teams.
Newbill did most of his damage from the charity stripe where he connected on 7-of-8 free throws and added seven rebounds to go along with three assists. He helped lead the Nittany Lions to a 31-25 halftime advantage.
Morgan State struggled shooting the ball, hitting 31 percent for the game and connecting on just 3 of 18 shots from beyond the arc.
Penn State got contributions from several players as they extended the lead in the second half.
Shep Garner scored 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting, while Geno Thorpe added 11 points with two steals. Brandon Taylor led the Nittany Lions on the glass with a game-high nine rebounds.
Morgan State led 16-8 after a layup by
Kyle Thomas at the 9:41 mark of the first half, but the Nittany Lions climbed back into it. A steal and layup by Garner punctuated a 13-2 run to help Penn State regain the lead at 21-18 and they never trailed from that point forward.
Cedric Blossom led Morgan State with 10 points (4-4 FT), six rebounds and two blocked shots.
Blake Bozeman added nine points and
Zech Smith chipped in six points with four boards and two blocks.
The Bears were outrebounded by a 40-36 margin, however they outscored Penn State by a 13-5 margin in second chance points.
Morgan State will host the Towson Tigers on Monday, November 17
th. Tip-off at Hill Field House is scheduled for 7 p.m.
