Arenas scores 11 of his 24 in final 4 minutes leading USC at Penn State
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Alijah Arenas scored 11 of his 24 points in the final four minutes, including the go-ahead basket with 0.7 seconds left, to help USC beat Penn State 77-75 on Sunday.
Freddie Dilione V made a layup for Penn State that tied it at 75-all with 12 seconds remaining. After USC called timeout to move the ball into the front court, Arenas took the inbounds pass, worked his way to the right block and kissed a layup high off the glass to cap the scoring.
Kam Woods had 13 points, a season-high nine assists, five rebounds and four steals for USC (18-6, 7-6 Big Ten). Ezra Ausar added 13 points and Jacob Cofie had 10 points and seven rebounds.
Dilione led Penn State (10-14, 1-12) with 23 points on 10-of-18 shooting. Josh Reed made 8 of 11 from the field and finished with 17 points while Ivan Juric scored 13 and Dominick Stewart added 11 points.
The Nittany Lions have lost 10 of their last 11 games.
Penn State scored 10 consecutive points before Woods made a layup that trimmed USC’s deficit to 40-36 at halftime. The Nittany Lions opened the second half with a 10-2 run that culminated with a fast-break dunk by Dilione that gave Penn State its biggest lead of the game at 50-38 with 17:23 left in the game.
The Nittany Lions went 0 for 8 from the field in a span of more than 8 1/2 minutes in the second half as USC used a 22-5 run to take a six-point lead with six minutes remaining.
Up next
USC: Plays Wednesday at Ohio State.Penn State: Visits Washington on Wednesday.