A three-pointer by Talor Battle with 1.3 seconds left turned out to be the final blow to a Mount Saint Mary’s upset attempt as the Nittany Lions were able to hold off the Mountaineers 57-53 Tuesday night at the Bryce Jordan Center.

The three, which came during a 53-all tie, was Battle’s only of the night as he continued his early-season shooting slump, going 21 percent from the floor (3 for 14) while missing six treys along the way. He still led all Nittany Lion scorers with 13 points. He was joined in double figures by Jeff Brooks (12) and Taran Buie (10).

In a game that the NCAA Tournament Committee will be less than thrilled with, Jeff Brooks opened up the second half with a jumper to put Penn State up by 11, Mount St. Mary’s went on an 16-5 run to take a 38-37 lead with 10:48 left. The game went back-and-forth until Battle’s game-saving, maybe season-saving, three pointer from Altoona dropped in to give the Nittany Lions the win.

Lamar Trice led the Mountaineers with 16 points, the only Mount Saint Mary double-digit effort.

Penn State, now 7-2 on the season, will make their attempt to grab that elusive signature out-of-conference win as they travel to Virginia Tech on Sunday for a match-up with the 4-4 Hokies.

Cleaning the Glass:

• Jeff Brooks added 13 rebounds to his 12 points to achieve the first double-double of his career. He was one rebound short on three different occasions this year.
• Junior guard Cammeron Woodyard started in place of the injured David Jackson and scored a season-high eight points.
• Penn State’s free-throw shooting was poor once again as they went 11-for-18 from the line (61 percent).