STATE COLLEGE — Myreon Jones scored 11 of his 21 points in the first half and No. 23 Penn State routed Central Connecticut, 87-58, on Friday.
Izaiah Brockington scored 11 points and Lamar Stevens added 10 for the Nittany Lions (10-2), who won as a ranked team for the first time in 23 seasons.
It was Penn State’s third straight win and 12th in a row at home dating to last season.
Ty Outlaw had 14 points for the Blue Devils (0-12), who trailed for all but 53 seconds and by as many as 32 with just over six minutes to play.
Less than a minute in, Stevens got open under the basket and threw down a dunk without a blue jersey around him. That started a 27-10 run in which Penn State went 11 for 11 from the floor, including 5 for 5 from 3-point range.
The Nittany Lions, who shot 62% from the floor in the first half, didn’t miss until Curtis Jones clanked a 3 off the rim with 11:20 left in the half.
Outlaw scored 14 of Central Connecticut’s first 19 points before getting some help from Zach Newkirk, Ola Olamuyiwa and Jamir Reed. They matched Penn State’s last four baskets over the final 4:21, but the Nittany Lions led 51-31 at halftime.
Reed opened the second half with a 3-pointer, but Penn State put together a 13-0 run over the next 4:16 to put the game further out of reach.
