The Penn State men's basketball team came off a week of rest last night against Minnesota, went up to Williams Arena in Minneapolis and dominated the Golden Gophers.

The Nittany Lions (15-7, 5-6 Big Ten) used its toughness and grit in the second half to clobber injury-ridden Minnesota, 82-62, to kick off its final six-game stretch of the regular season.

Minnesota was without starter, 6-foot-6 senior forward John-Blair Bickerstaff, and was visibly depleted as it ran out of gas in the second half as the Lions continued to pound the ball inside to 6-foot-8 senior forward Gyasi Cline-Heard, who led the Lions with 21 points and six rebounds.

The rest of the Lions offensive attack was balanced as Tyler Smith had his best game of the season with 15 points, eight rebounds and six blocked shots, while Joe Crispin added 15 points, all coming off 3-point baskets.

Penn State also got a huge lift from sophomore reserve guard Brandon Watkins who had a career-high 11 points and filled the void of senior Titus Ivory, who was plagued by foul trouble. Although Ivory was struggling with his fouls, he still scored eight of his nine points in the all-important second half.

"Brandon did an excellent job," Penn State men's basketball coach Jerry Dunn said.

"He gives us a lot of energy on the defensive end. He was knocking down his shots, which is a real big plus for us."

Last night's win for Penn State marks its first ever win at Minnesota and puts the Lions in good shape to come home and host Purdue on Saturday at The Bryce Jordan Center. When Minnesota plotted a comeback to cut the score to 52-47, Penn State rattled off 17 unanswered points in the second half, using a determined attack on both sides of the ball to stretch its lead.

Minnesota's big man, Dusty Rychart didn't want to give up easily, as he led the Gophers with 22 points and six boards. But the big statistic of the game for the Penn State defense was holding Minnesota senior guard Terrance Simmons to only four points, after the talented guard went for 34 against Michigan State in the Gophers' last game against the Spartans.

Smith said Penn State was playing exceptionally hard on both ends of the floor, especially on the defensive end, where he and Cline-Heard worked together blocking shots and not allowing Minnesota many second shots. With this win, Smith said, the Lions get to come home and keep their confidence high as they head into the final few games of the regular season.

With a stretch that consists of Purdue, Northwestern, Michigan State, Iowa and Ohio State, the Lions need to stay confident to end the regular season on a high note. Especially since every game throws another obstacle in the Lions course for an NCAA Tournament bid.

"We had a lot of good balance on offense," Smith said. "I almost out-shot Joe Crispin, so you know he was being unselfish.

"We're on our way, we're on a roll and we're feeling good about ourselves."