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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State used a 17-4 run midway through the second half to break open a close contest and defeat La Salle, 79-72, on Tuesday at the Bryce Jordan Center. The Explorers placed four players in double-figures, led by senior Tyrone Garland's 18 points.
 
Senior Tyreek Duren scored 16 points and dished four assists, while juniors Jerrell Wright (10 points, 10 rebounds) and Steve Zack (12 points, 10 rebounds) each had double-doubles.
 
"I think they defended better, shot better, and passed the ball better in the second half," head coach Dr. John Giannini said. "I think we're going to be fine. We do have to get a little bit better, but we have good players with good attitudes. We've lost before and found our stride and that's what we have to do again."
 
PSU (3-1) had five players in double-figures, led by a career-high 18 points from sophomore Donovan Jack. Brandon Taylor, Tim Frazier (11 assists), and D.J. Newbill each had 15 points while Ross Travis had 13 points.
 
The game featured five ties and 11 lead changes up to the 11:15 mark of the second half when the game was knotted at 56-56. Jack had five straight points to give the Nittany Lions a five-point advantage by a pair of free throws by Garland and a Duren lay-up brought the Explorer deficit back to just one.
 
Penn State followed with a 8-0 spurt to extend the advantage to 69-60 and the Blue and Gold would get no closer than seven the rest of the way.
 
"We struggled to score, we struggled to stop them," Giannini said. "They really outplayed us during that stretch."
 
Jack, at 6-foot-9, hit four three-pointers and caused match-up problems for the Explorers all evening.
 
"Anytime you add another three-point shooter to your team, especially when it's a big guy," Giannini said. "The fact that their big guys can shoot really forced us to play smaller late in the game and that hurt us on the glass. They are a hard team for us to match-up with."
 
The contest marked a homecoming for senior and State College native Taylor Dunn, who is the son of former Penn State coach Jerry Dunn. The younger Dunn started and hit a pair of three-pointers in seven minutes of play.
 
"Taylor is one of those guys who deserves any good that comes his way, because he works so hard," Giannini said. "We certainly wanted to show Taylor that kind of respect and appreciation here in what was very much a homecoming for him."
 
"Coach gave me a really nice opportunity to start tonight in front of a crowd in State College," Dunn said. "I probably shot the majority of the shots in my life in this building. I felt real comfortable right when we got here yesterday. I just really wanted to win."
 
The Explorers will head to the US Virgin Islands for the Paradise Jam to take on Morgan State at 9 PM (Eastern) on Friday.
 
NOTES: Duren started his 76th straight game…Zack corralled his first career double-double…For Wright, it was his third straight double-double and seventh of his career…Duren moved past Mike Gizzi into 26^th place on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,329 points.