Penn State 56, Nebraska 43: Geno Thorpe scored 12 of his game-high 14 points in the second half as the host Nittany Lions held off a huge second-half comeback to defeat the Cornhuskers.

Brandon Taylor and D.J. Newbill contributed 11 points apiece for Penn State (15-9, 3-8 Big Ten), which has won three of five since dropping its first six conference games. Shep Garner knocked down three 3-pointers to account for all nine of his points as the Nittany Lions used 9-of-21 shooting beyond the arc and a 39-26 rebounding advantage to overcome 16 turnovers.

Terran Petteway had 13 points for Nebraska (13-10, 5-6), which shot 17.4 percent in the first half and 29.4 for the contest after shooting a season-high 62.8 percent in Tuesday’s home win over Northwestern. Shavon Shields added 12 points and eight boards for the Cornhuskers, who are averaging 48.6 points while dropping each of their five Big Ten road contests.

Penn State held Nebraska scoreless for 10 ½ minutes and established a seven-point first-half lead behind eight points by Taylor, and also connected on six of its eight shots after intermission as part of a 15-4 burst to turn its nine-point halftime edge into a 37-17 advantage with just over 15 minutes left. Petteway scored five points and Tarin Smith added four as the Cornhuskers responded with a 14-0 run while the Nittany Lions went cold for the next 6 ½ minutes.

Petteway drained a 3-pointer to highlight a 10-2 spurt and pull Nebraska within 44-41 with 5 ½ minutes remaining, but Penn State held firm and rattled off the next seven points, getting a critical triple from Garner with 1:48 remaining. Smith answered with a layup with 1:11 to go, but Thorpe and Newbill got dunks on consecutive possessions shortly thereafter to cap the Nittany Lions’ game-ending 12-2 surge.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Nebraska’s 13-point first half was its lowest scoring output in either half since an 11-point effort in a 70-44 loss to Creighton on Dec. 11, 2005. … Newbill’s 11-point performance tied a season low, but the Big Ten’s leading scorer extended his double-figure scoring streak to 33 games. … One game after Shields surpassed the 1,000-point mark in his Cornhuskers’ career, Petteway did the same on Saturday. The conference’s third-leading scorer, who scored 88 points before transferring from Texas Tech, topped the 1,000-point plateau for his career earlier this season.