Bucknell University
4-4
Penn State
2-6
Men's Basketball Falls Short Against Penn State, 59-55
12/20/2002 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec 20, 2002
STATE COLLEGE (AP) - Sharif Chambliss scored 10 of his game-high 15 points in the second half as Penn State defeated Bucknell 59-55 Friday.
DeForrest Riley scored 12 points and Jan Jagla had 10 points, seven rebounds and four blocks for the Nittany Lions (2-6), who won their second consecutive game after losing their first six.
Boakai Lalugba led the Bison (4-4) with 12 points.
Dan Blankenship hit a layup and was fouled with 10 seconds left, pulling Bucknell within two, but missed the ensuing free throw. Robert Summers hit two free throws at the other end to seal the win. The Nittany Lions went 14-for-14 from the line in the two minutes of the game and won despite not making a field goal in the final nine minutes.
The teams combined for 48 turnovers, with Bucknell committing 15 of its 25 in the first half.
After a dunk by Lalugba opened the scoring, the Lions scored 14 unanswered points and led by as many as 17. But Penn State scored just four points over the last 3:42 of the half, allowing Bucknell to trim the deficit to nine.
Penn State, which led 33-24 at the break, won despite enduring two different five-minute stretches in the second half without a point and shooting just 28 percent from 3-point range.
Kevin Bettencourt's 3-pointer from the left corner with 4:08 remaining trimmed Bucknell's deficit to just two at 45-43. The Bison had a chance to tie on their next possession, but Lalugba missed the front end of a 1-and-1. Summers made two free throws at the other end to stretch the lead back to four, and Jagla stuffed Lalugba's dunk attempt with 1:20 remaining to keep the Bison from getting any closer.
Bucknell played without starting forward Brian Werner, who injured his right shoulder in practice this week.
Bucknell's two-game winning streak came to an end, while Penn State won its second in a row after an 0-6 start. The Bison return to action on Dec. 27 against Arizona State in the opening round of the azcentral.com Hoops Classic.
