PHILADELPHIA -- For most of the season, the men's basketball team has been looking at its performance and coming up with nothing but questions. Now it appears the Lions may be finding the answers.

Penn State outscored St. Joseph's 13-4 in the final 1:43 last night to snatch a 71-67 Atlantic-10 victory at the Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse.

"We knew what it was all along -- it was just a matter of going out and doing it," guard Freddie Barnes said. "It's team defense. The last few minutes we really clamped down and played tough -- that's the key."

Penn State, which pulled off its second come-from-behind victory in as many games, moves to 17-9 and 10-7 in the conference. Massachusetts' 80-70 loss to Temple lifts the Lions into third place in the A-10 while the ninth-place Hawks fall to 9-16 and 5-11 in league play.

"I'm elated with the fact that we won this game," Coach Bruce Parkhill said. "We knew it would go down to the wire, and, quite frankly, it looked like it was over for a time.

"I'm really proud of these kids -- they showed a lot of heart tonight. It's been kind of a roller-coaster ride for the guys mentally. Their mental toughness in the last two games has been really special."

Barnes led the way again, scoring a game-high 18 points, including nine of the team's last 15. St. Joe's took a 65-60 lead with 1:32 remaining on a pair of Marlon Miller free throws. Barnes then drove to the basket scored.

Hawk center Matt Goukas missed the front end of a one-and-one, giving the Lions a chance to pull within one. A pair of James Barnes free throws did that with 1:16 left. More importantly, freshman guard Bernard Blunt, who led the Hawks with 18, exited the game with his fifth foul.

After the teams traded baskets, Freddie Barnes buried a 3-pointer from near the NBA line to knot the score at 67 with 1:03 remaining.

The Hawks then brought the ball up court looking for the lead. Guard Monroe Brown intercepted a Miller pass near the St. Joe's bench with half a minute remaining. On the ensuing drive, Goukas fouled Freddie Barnes, who sank both attempts with 20 seconds left.

After two timeouts, St. Joe's brought the ball up court for a final shot. With Blount on the bench, the ball and the game was placed in the hands of fellow freshman Rap Curry. The guard drove on Brown and attempted a 10-foot jumper from the center. It fell short.

"We wanted him to penetrate and try to create a play," Hawk coach John Griffin said. "He had been doing that effectively in the first half. If he had the opportunity, he could take advantage of it and score."

After a James Barnes rebound, Freddie Barnes took the ball to run out the clock. Spotting a streaking DeRon Hayes he passed it ahead, and Hayes slammed a one-hander to ice the victory.

"In closer games, particularly at home, we found a way to win," Griffin said. "This is more reminiscent of games we had in December. It's disappointing because we've come so far."

Freddie Barnes, who has scored 74 points in the last four games, shot two-of-four from the 3-point stripe and 10-of-11 from the foul line.

Hayes added 15 points, including a four-minute stretch in the second half when he tallied nine straight for Penn State. Center Dave Degitz scored 10 points in the paint.

The Lions asserted themselves inside down the stretch, holding the Hawks to five offensive rebounds. St. Joe's only mustered four second-chance points.

"You have to give Penn State credit -- they made the big plays in the end," Griffin said. "They always play good defense. They're one of the most fundamentally-sound teams in terms of boxing out -- they're clearly one of the best."

The Lions outmuscled the Hawks 36-25 on the boards and blocked five shots. James Barnes was held to only six points, but grabbed 10 rebounds off the defensive glass.

St. Joe's was forced to strike from the outside, getting 35 points from the guard tandem. Blunt led the way, shooting seven-of-18 from the floor. Curry, who scored 56 in his previous two contests, chipped in 17 last night. He was six-of-eight from the floor, including two 3-point shots.

In the first half, the plot was all too familiar for Penn State. The Lions shot only 41 percent from the floor in the opening period. The Lions hit the first shot but then found themselves down 7-2 after two minutes.

Penn State used a six- and seven-point run to tie the score at 16 and then 28.

Penn State held the lead for only 39 seconds in the first half, scoring the first bucket and then regaining the lead with 10 seconds left before halftime. The Lions held a 31-30 halftime advantage.