Associated Press
ATLANTA ó Georgia Tech kept getting lost on defense, and Penn State had no trouble figuring out where the basket was from 3-point range.
The free-throw line? That was a bit of an adventure for the Nittany Lions.
Stanley Pringle scored 22 points and Penn State kept knocking down open shots from beyond the arc, allowing the Nittany Lions to withstand some woeful foul shooting for an 85-83 victory over the Yellow Jackets in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Wednesday night.
Georgia Tech lost despite Gani Lawal scoring a career-best 34 points.
Penn State (7-1) squandered an early 10-point lead but looked to be in good shape when Morrissey made a jumper with his foot on the 3-point line for an 81-74 lead with just over two minutes left, after hitting two big 3s earlier in the half to help the Nittany Lions pull away.
Overall, Penn State was 8-of-19 from long range, compared with a 3-of-16 performance by the Yellow Jackets.
“We have some guys who have really accepted their roles,” Penn State coach Ed DeChellis said. “Danny Morrissey was starting for us, but we tried to go with quicker kids in the backcourt because they can do a couple of more things. But he came in and played his role. He’s a good shooter. He made open shots. We’re a decent 3-point shooting team.”
Georgia Tech (4-1) had a chance after Penn State missed three straight times on its first attempt in the 1-and-1. Two Pringle free throws with 14.2 seconds left made it 85-81 before Lawal’s dunk pulled the Yellow Jackets within range.
Jamelle Cornley missed two more free throws with 5.4 seconds remaining and Georgia Tech rebounded. Iman Shumpert got off a running 3-pointer, but the ball clanked off the side of the rim as the horn sounded.