Battle helps lift the Nits to win over Minnesota

Talor Battle scored 28 points and hit a three-pointer in a late 8-0 run that propelled Penn State to a 66-63 win over visiting Minnesota last night.

David Jackson added 13 points and five rebounds for the Nittany Lions (14-11, 7-7).

Penn State led most of the game, and Jackson's three with a little more than 11 minutes left gave them a 10-point lead.

But Minnesota (17-9, 6-8) slowly chipped away at the deficit, then went up 60-57 on Colton Iverson's dunk with 2:09 left.

The Nittany Lions answered with the 8-0 run including Battle's deep three with 1:12 left.

"I get excited for those shots," Battle said. "I think the guys want me to take that shot, the coach wants me to take that shot and I want to take that shot. I was open today . . . I shot it with confidence and knocked it down."

The Nits were aided by back-to-back turnovers by the Gophers, and Battle's foul shot with 5 seconds left put Penn State up by three.

Blake Hoffarber led the Gophers with 18 points and Trevor Mbakwe added a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds.

Minnesota struggled offensively early, but shot 56 percent in the second half to stay close. The taller, bigger Gophers outrebounded Penn State 34-22, including 25-15 on the defensive glass.

In other games:

* At Arizona, Derrick Williams had 26 points and eight rebounds, and the No. 12 Wildcats (22-4, 11-2 Pac-10) withstood a 30-point night from Klay Thompson to hold off Washington State, 79-70.

* At Arizona State, Matthew Bryan-Amaning had 22 points and 12 rebounds to lead Washington (18-7, 10-4 Pac-10), 79-62, over the Sun Devils.

* At Coastal Carolina, Chad Gray scored 25 points to lead the Chanticleers (25-3) to a 94-59 victory over North Carolina Central. They played withtout leading scorer Desmond Holloway, who was indefinitely suspended for an eligibility issue. His absence comes only 2 days after starting point guard Kierre Greenwood tore a ligament in his left knee during a game. He will be out the rest of the season.

* At North Carolina State, freshman C.J. Leslie had 18 points and 10 rebounds to help the Wolfpack (14-11, 4-7 Atlantic Coast Conference) beat Clemson, 69-61.

* At Bryant, James Johnson scored 24 points on seven three-pointers and Justin Rutty added 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead Quinnipiac (18-8, 10-5 Northeast Conference) to an 80-60 victory.

* At IFPW, Nate Wolters scored 30 points, and South Dakota State (18-9, 10-6 Summit League) won its fourth game in a row, 80-64.

* At Wagner, Kyle Johnson scored six of his 17 points in overtime, including the go-ahead layup and four clinching free throws, as Long Island University (21-5, 13-2 Northeast Conference) won, 83-79.

* At Oakland (Mich.), Keith Benson scored 22 points to lead the Golden Grizzlies (19-9, 14-1 Summit League) to a 71-69 victory over North Dakota State and their second straight league championship.

* On the eve of her sentencing, the woman convicted of trying to extort Louisville coach Rick Pitino of millions of dollars is again seeking a new trial.

Karen Cunagin Sypher's attorney, David Nolan, said in a motion that a new examination of the evidence shows Sypher did not sign several forms for the FBI or didn't sign them on the day noted.

Sypher will be sentenced today after being convicted in August of extortion, lying to the FBI and retaliation against a witness. Prosecutors say she sought millions in cash, cars and a house from Pitino to stay quiet about their 1-night stand at a Louisville restaurant in 2003. *