Gophers Rally To Beat Penn State

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Daniel Oturu had his 12th double-double of the season with 26 points and 14 rebounds, Marcus Carr added 27 points and Minnesota came from behind to beat Penn State 75-69 on Wednesday night.

Carr added nine assists and six rebounds for the Gophers, who trailed by eight points early in the second half before the Nittany Lions' offense went cold. Penn State missed 13 straight shots at one point and went without a field goal for almost 12 minutes as Minnesota went on a 16-5 run.

Myreon Jones and Seth Lundy each had 15 points for the Nittany Lions, who have lost three in a row.

The Gophers beefed up their nonconference schedule this season to improve their tournament standing and prepare them for Big Ten play. The maneuver has paid off with Minnesota beating No. 19 Michigan on Sunday and outlasting Penn State, which was ranked before back-to-back losses to Rutgers and Wisconsin.

The Gophers also have beaten No. 21 Ohio State this season and lost in double overtime at Purdue.

With the Nittany Lions shooting over 60% from the field until their drought, Minnesota stayed close. Payton Willis tied the game on the opening possession of the second half before Penn State used a 10-2 run to take control with Lamar Stephens scoring six points during the stretch.

Stephens' jumper at 17:02 of the second half ended the run and the Nittany Lions didn't hit a field goal again until Myreon Jones connected with 5:28 to play.