The Penn State men's basketball team removed a giant monkey from its back last night, winning 65-61 at Northwestern. The victory marks the first Big Ten road win for the Nittany Lions (9-4, 1-1 Big Ten) under third-year head coach Ed DeChellis.

This was also the first time that any current player on the team defeated a conference foe on the road. Prior to last night, Penn State had not recorded such a victory since March 1, 2001, when the Lions pulled off a win at Iowa.

The losing streak had reached 33 games before it was finally snapped last night.

"It's very important for our team and our program," DeChellis said on the Penn State Radio Network. "We don't have a lot of confidence in winning Big Ten games on the road. Our kids needed this desperately."

The Lions, who trailed by 11 a few minutes before the half, were led by their starters. DeChellis' first substitution of the second half did not come until the 8:16 mark, and it was the starting five who brought the Lions back and secured the win over the Wildcats, winners of their previous five games.

Penn State guard David Jackson scored eight unanswered points in the opening minutes of the second half, but Northwestern (9-5, 2-1) stuck with the Lions for the rest of the game.

It was the effort and hustle of Jamelle Cornley and Geary Claxton that seemed to keep the Lions ahead every time Northwestern looked ready to creep ahead on the scoreboard.

Cornley and Claxton combined for 10 offensive rebounds and 19 in total, and it was Claxton's block of Northwestern scoring star Vedran Vikusic with 20 seconds to play that sealed the victory for the Lions.

"Jamelle and Geary did an unbelievable job on the offensive glass tonight," DeChellis said.

Penn State's 2-3 zone was able to keep Vikusic, the Big Ten's leading scorer, under wraps in the second half, limiting him to just four shots in the period. Vikusic finished he night with 21 points, but Penn State's plan to limit his open looks proved effective, as the Wildcats had few other viable scoring options.

"In the second half we did a good job of keeping his opportunities down," DeChellis said of Vikusic.

Claxton's 15 points led Penn State, but point guard Ben Luber's 11 points in the second half proved as timely and crucial as any. Luber finished with 13 on the evening.

Luber's 3-pointer with 13 minutes to play gave the Lions a 44-43 lead. His other trifecta came as a quick answer to Vikusic's 3-pointer that brought Northwestern to within two.

Luber also sank three free throws in the final 36 seconds, helping to put the game out of reach, even with Craig Moore's late 3-pointer for Northwestern.

"I'm very proud of our team," DeChellis said. "We haven't won. It would have been very easy to miss a couple free throws or not make the plays we needed to make down the stretch."