Penn State tops Rutgers for its 3rd win in 4 games

Penn State teammates Brandon Taylor and Donovon Jack sat side-by-side in the Bryce Jordan Center media room after the team’s biggest win of the season Wednesday night.

Both turned in memorable performances to lead the Nittany Lions past No. 4 Iowa.

They led Penn State to another win Saturday.

Jack and Taylor keyed a game-turning stretch in the second half as the Nittany Lions pulled away from Rutgers for a 70-58 win at the RAC. With the game tied with less than 16 minutes to play, Jack and Taylor combined to score 11 of the team’s next 13 points to give Penn State a comfortable seven-point lead. The Nittany Lions pushed that lead to as many as 17 points as they closed out the victory.

Shep Garner paced Penn State (14-13, 5-9) with 20 points, and Taylor had 17 points and a career-high 14 rebounds. Jack and Josh Reaves both finished with 12 points and six rebounds.

Jonathan Laurent led Rutgers (6-21, 0-14) with 19 points and 15 rebounds.

Penn State has won three of its last four games and earned back-to-back wins for the first time since December.

The Nittany Lions raced out to a 12-4 lead and led by 15 points with seven minutes left in the first half. But Penn State went cold and the Scarlet Knights made a run to pull within 28-22 going into the break.

Rutgers started the second half strong, tying the game with 15:55 left. The Scarlet Knights got back in the game by pushing the tempo and attacking the rim.

“We started taking quick shots on the offensive end and it led to runouts,” Garner said of Rutgers’ comeback. “On defense in the second half we just buckled down. We slowed the game and made them play at our tempo and we played defense. We locked down and we rebounded. That was the biggest thing. Our staple is defending and rebounding and that’s what we did today.”

The Scarlet Knights took their first lead at 35-33 on a pair of free throws by Laurent with 14:58 left.

“It felt good (taking the lead),” Laurent said. “This has been what we’ve been working for, so try to keep it up, but we just ran out of gas.”

Taylor responded with a bucket to tie it on the ensuing possession. He then finished inside to tie it again at 37-37, starting a 15-0 run by Penn State.

After Reaves knocked down two free throws, Jack scored the team’s next five points. His three-point play gave the Nittany Lions a 44-37 lead with less than 12 minutes remaining.

The lead climbed to 13 points on a jumper by Garner before Rutgers guard Omari Grier hit a 3-pointer to end the Nittany Lions’ run.

Penn State led by double digits the rest of the way.

It was Rutgers’ 29th straight loss in Big Ten action.

“It’s Groundhog Day for us,” Rutgers coach Eddie Jordan said of the losing. “Just over and over and over again.”

Notes: Penn State hosts Nebraska at 7 p.m. Thursday. ... Penn State shot 38.5 percent from the field Saturday. The Nittany Lions went 9 for 22 from beyond the arc. ... Reaves and Garner each had four assists. ... Garner went 5 for 9 from 3-point range. ... It was Taylor’s sixth double-double of the season.

This story was originally published February 20, 2016 at 3:09 PM with the headline "Penn State tops Rutgers for its 3rd win in 4 games."