COLLEGE BASKETBALL Illinois State transfers Gordon, Onyeuku key upset victory over Penn State, 82-73

The Redbirds hadn't defeated a Big Ten opponent since 1996.
MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Neither Lorenzo Gordon nor Nedu Onyeuku was seeking any personal glory after leading Illinois State to one of its biggest victories in years.
Gordon scored a game-high 26 points and Onyeuku 16 as the junior college transfers powered their new school to an 82-73 upset victory over Penn State Sunday in the Black Coaches Association Classic.
"It was just a team effort, this win was all team," said Gordon.
The Redbirds trailed Penn State 37-32 at halftime. But the two newcomers did battle back to give the Redbirds only their fourth win in 22 tries against a Big Ten team, with the last victory coming in 1996 over Wisconsin.
Redbird leaders
With Onyeuku scoring all his points in the second half and Gordon nearly unstoppable at times, Penn State coach Ed DeChellis said the Redbirds were a different team in the period.
"They did a good job. They were down five at the half and came out and took it right at us in the second half of the ball game. They did a good job getting the ball inside and taking it right at us," he said.
Trey Guidry added 16 points for Illinois State. Geary Claxton scored 16 points, and Marlon Smith and Travis Parker 14 each for Penn State in a season opener for both teams, which met for the first time.
The game was one of four in the first round tournament, which has eight teams playing three consecutive days.
Illinois State Coach Porter Moser was impressed with his two new players.
"I think he plays with the mentality that he's just going to wear you down," he said of Gordon. "Nedu drove a couple times and had some nice looks. I'm just real pleased with the way he's competing."
Second-half surge
Gordon scored the first five points of the second half to tie the score at 37 and hit a basket for a 39-38 Redbird lead with 17:48 remaining.
The teams traded the lead several times until Claxton put the Nittany Lions ahead 58-56 with a pair of free throws. But Onyeuku responded with 10 straight points, including 3-pointers to begin and end his scoring spurt to put the Redbirds ahead 66-58 with 7:04 remaining. Penn State never got closer than six points the rest of the game.
DeChellis said his team could not stop the Redbirds when it counted.
"You can't give up fifty points in the second half and expect to win. Defensively we were just very bad," he said.
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