Westbrook leads Gophers to win

Minnesota beat Penn State to square its Big Ten record and gain momentum.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Lawrence Westbrook neared the lane at the end of the fast break, turned slightly to his left and whipped a behind-the-back pass to his trailing Minnesota teammate.

Spencer Tollackson obliged with a basket-shaking dunk before giddily sprinting back with a grinning, kid-on-Christmas-morning expression as if the Gophers had just won the national title.

Westbrook had 15 points, six rebounds and four assists to help Minnesota hold on for a 75-68 victory over Penn State Sunday and move back to even in the Big Ten standings.

Beating the Nittany Lions, who start three freshmen after losing go-to player Geary Claxton to a season-ending knee injury, is not much to celebrate. But the Gophers (17-9, 7-7) built some handy momentum to take into the next two weeks, when they’ll play at Purdue, Indiana and Illinois and play host to Ohio State and frantically try to build their case for an NCAA tournament invitation.

“I think we’re still playing for a tournament bid,” said Lawrence McKenzie, who frustrated coach Tubby Smith with his defense and his offensive decisions but finished with 11 points and five boards.

Westbrook made all six of his free throws on an afternoon when the rest of his team went 10-for-22 from the line. Blake Hoffarber added 10 points off the bench and Dan Coleman contributed 10 points and seven rebounds for Minnesota, which led 65-52 with 4 1/2 minutes left.

Danny Morrissey, who had 14 points on 4-for-5 shooting from 3-point range, buried a shot from behind the arc with 2:37 remaining to pull Penn State within 66-64.

McKenzie answered with two free throws and a big rebound under the basket of Stanley Pringle’s missed 3-pointer. Westbrook, on the next possession, put the game away by grabbing McKenzie’s missed 3-pointer, driving to the hoop and banking in a short shot with 1:36 left.

Jamelle Cornley had 20 points, and six turnovers, for the Nittany Lions (12-14, 4-10), who lost their sixth straight road game. Cornley was the only Penn State player to score in the second half until just more than five minutes remained in the game. David Jackson had a career-high 19 points and eight rebounds, but only six of those came after halftime.