In the end, the Kangaroos were simply out of their element.

Though able to surge to significant leads against Penn State's starting five in both halves, Missouri-Kansas City was unable to contain the Nittany Lion bench last night, losing 75-71 to Penn State at the Bryce Jordan Center.

The Kangaroos jumped out to a 15-0 lead as the Lions went cold from the floor, finding it difficult to even get off a quality shot.

Penn State did finally get on the board when David Jackson hit a three-pointer after the team had a dry spell for the first 8:41 of the non-conference game.

The Jackson three sparked a 16-0 run for the Lions, as subs Mike Walker, Milos Bogetic and Jamelle Cornley carried Penn State, just as they would for much of the contest. The trio combined for 48 points.

"Thank gosh for our bench," Penn State coach Ed DeChellis said. "Those guys did just an unbelievable job."

The Lions trailed 28-26 at the half, but more ineffective play from the starting lineup set Penn State back again to start the second. The 'Roos set out on a 15-4 run to open the second half, once again putting Penn State in a hole.

And once again, Walker, Bogetic and Cornley came in to bring the Lions back.

"I'm sitting there on the bench, and the first thing I'm thinking is that we're not going to lose this game," said Cornley, who finished with 17 points and seven rebounds. "And that's the first thing I said when I stepped out onto the court."

Bogetic, a 6-foot-10 freshman from Serbia, led the break that might have given the Lions the lift they needed.

With under 14 minutes left to play, Bogetic dribbled up much of the court and found Cornley in the paint for a lay-up, providing some of the quick transition points that DeChellis likes to see.

"Being a Serbian, Milos wants to handle the ball everyday in practice and shoot three-pointers," Cornley said. "Fortunately, today it worked out. Don't look for that too often."

Bogetic added 10 rebounds to his 14 points, recording his second double-double.

Walker's three-pointer at 9:12 put Penn State ahead 51-48. That was one of five shots that Walker would hit from beyond the arc en route to 17 points.

"You gotta look for the ball when you're feeling it," Walker said. "Nights like this don't come along too often."

The game remained close the rest of the way, but when Jackson found Travis Parker open for a three-pointer with 1:02 remaining, the Lions went ahead 72-69 to take a lead that they would not squander.

Though not entirely pleased with his starters, DeChellis was proud of the effort.

"That's a great trait to have as a team -- we're going to continue to battle whether we're up 15 or down 15," DeChellis said.