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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
NEW YORK (AP) -- Joe Crispin made an uncontested layup with two seconds left and intercepted Damien Wilkins' inbounds pass to lead Penn State to a 74-72 victory over North Carolina State in the consolation game of the National Invitation Tournament on Thursday night.
After N.C. State's Kenny Inge tied it 72-72 on a short jumper
with 13.6 seconds left, Crispin calmly dribbled the ball up the
court and drove in for the game-winning basket.
Crispin, who finished with 14 points, then intercepted Wilkins'
long pass to seal the victory for the Nittany Lions (19-16).
The game preceded the NIT final between Notre Dame and Wake
Forest at Madison Square Garden.
Jarrett Stephens added 28 points on 11-of-18 shooting for Penn
State, which beat N.C. State for just the third time in 17
meetings.
Wilkins led N.C. State (20-14) with 21 points, and Inge added 18
points and nine rebounds.
With Penn State trailing 70-67, Titus Ivory hit a 3-pointer with
2:08 left to tie it. The Nittany Lions then took their first lead
of the half when Crispin made two free throws with 1:11 left to
make it 72-70.
N.C. State went on a 15-6 run early in the second half to lead
56-45 with 12:13 left, highlighted by Inge's dunk. The Nittany
Lions couldn't get the lead under nine until Crispin's 3-pointer
with 8:31 left made it 62-56.
Then the Nittany Lions, who lost to Notre Dame in the
semifinals, slowly chipped at the lead.
N.C. State's biggest lead of the first half was 19-10 with 12:46
remaining on Clifford Crawford's layup. Penn State went on a 9-0
run, keyed by two baskets by Stephens to tie it at 19-19.
The Wolfpack took leads as large as five points, but the Nittany
Lions came back to lead 29-27 on Crispin's 3-pointer with 3:57
left.
Wilkins hit a 16-foot running jumper at the buzzer to tie it
37-37 at halftime.
Stephens scored 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting in the half to
lead the Nittany Lions, who were 16-for-29 from the field. Wilkins
had 13 points for the Wolfpack.
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
Chat: NCAA Tourney
National Invitation Tournament glance
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