CHARLESTON, S.C. – Penn State took its first lead since 4-2 in the game's final tenths of a second and knocked off Cornell 72-71 on Friday evening at TD Arena in a consolation game of the 2014 Gildan Charleston Classic. The loss dropped Cornell to 2-3 on the season, while the Nittany Lions improved to 3-1.

DJ Newbill scored after Cornell turned the ball over on an inbounds play with 4.8 seconds to play. A Big Red player attempting to catch the inbounds pass was knocked to the ground and it was picked up by Penn State. Newbill, the second-leading scorer in the Big Ten, drove the left baseline and was able to power a layup over a Big Red defender. The play was reviewed, but the shot counted and sent Penn State off with the win.

Cornell did plenty right in the contest, leading for more than 32 minutes and controlling the pace, but Penn State hung tough with a hot-shooting second half to overtake the Big Red and clip them at the buzzer.

Senior Galal Cancer and sophomore Robert Hatter each scored 17 points for the Big Red, with Cancer going a perfect 12-for-12 from the free-throw line. He added three rebounds, two assists and two steals in the loss. Senior Shonn Miller was also among the four Big Red players that reached double figures with 15 points, three rebounds, three blocks and two steals and Devin Cherry had a strong 11 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Cornell hit 21-of-22 free throws on the afternoon, the eighth-best free-throw percentage game in school history (.955).

Newbill scored 26 points, including the game-winner, and was credited with six rebounds and four steals. John Johnson added 17 points, Shep Garner had 10 and Brandon Taylor had eight points and six rebounds. The Nittany Lions shot 46 percent from the floor overall, including 61 percent (17-of-28) after halftime. Penn State held a 37-28 advantage on the glass and outscored the Big Red in the paint 30-14.

It was a wild ending, particularly the final 90 seconds that saw Cornell hit 8-of-8 free throws and still not get the decision. Every time the Big Red extended the lead, Penn State answered with the bucket, maybe the biggest coming with 4.8 seconds left when Johnson hit a tough 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 71-70. After a timeout, the inbounds pass landed in the hands of Shep Garner, who found Newbill for the winning shot.

Cornell did enough in that final minute, including an impressive trailing blocked shot by David Onuorah on Newbill that kept the game tied at 63-63. Cherry raced down the other end and got an acrobatic layup to fall, giving the Big Red the lead back. Moments later, Miller blocked a shot and Hatter hit two more free throws to make it a four point contest.

It went that way for much of the next 20 seconds. Good basket, Penn State. Two made free throws, Cornell. Cancer hit the last of his 12 free throws without a miss to make it 71-67 with 14 seconds left, but Johnson hit the 3-pointer on the other end that triggered the final spurt.

The Big Red's defensive energy out of the gates was outstanding and led to an early 10-point lead (17-7). Penn State scored seven straight to get back within two, but Cornell extended it back to eight, punctuating the run with a Dave LaMore dunk and a Miller elbow jumper sandwiched around a PSU timeout to make it 26-16.

Cornell maintained the lead the rest of the way thanks to an impressive 20 minutes of defense. Newbill, the second-leading scorer in the Big Ten, scored 15 points in the first half, but the rest of the Nittany Lions had just 14 and shot just 5-of-21 from the floor (.238). When all was said and done, the Big Red went into the break leading 37-28 after Cherry broke down a defender and went to the hole for a layup at the buzzer. Cornell turned the ball over just four times in the half a night after surrendering the ball 13 times in the first 20 minutes.

Cornell will play Drexel for seventh place on Sunday, Nov. 23 at 1:30 p.m. The Dragons lead the all-time series 2-1, though the Big Red won the last meeting 61-54 during the 2009-10  campaign as part of the Legends Classic. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN3.