NEW YORK — Senior Jamelle Cornley scored 18 points and Penn State used a big second half to beat Baylor 69-63 on Thursday night and win the NIT title, just the second postseason tournament championship in school history.
“The last time I cut down the nets was the state championship my freshman year of high school,” Cornley said. “To cut down some more nets in my last game is just an unbelievable feeling.”
Talor Battle added 12 points, all in the second half, for the Nittany Lions (27-11).
LaceDarius Dunn scored 18 points to lead Baylor (24-15), which hadn’t won a postseason game since 1950 before its run to the NIT final. Fellow senior Curtis Jerrells added 14 points
The Bears trailed 62-50 after Stanley Pringle made two free throws with under two minutes left, but they did their best to rally. Tweety Carter’s 3-pointer made it 62-55 with just over a minute to go, and he made another with 16.8 seconds left to get within 68-63.
Battle hit 1-of-2 free throws at the other end, and Jerrells air-balled a 3-point attempt as time expired to set off a jubilant celebration at one end of Madison Square Garden.
“Penn State had a great following, a great crowd, and they’re the ones who hit big shots and won the game,” Bears coach Scott Drew said. “As a coach you never feel bad about that, when a team plays great and wins the game.”
