Four Penn State players finished in double figures to help lift the Nittany Lions to a 71-67 win over Illinois on Saturday.

Shep Garner led Penn State (12-10, 4-5 Big Ten) with 18 points. Payton Banks added 17 and Tony Carr and Mike Watkins chipped in 13 and 10, respectively, to help Penn State snap a three-game losing skid.

Malcolm Hill led Illinois with 19 points and Jalen Coleman-Lands added 13 to help the Illini battle back from a 45-24 halftime deficit.

Penn State took control with arguably its best first half of the season before the Illini came back late.

The Nittany Lions shot 60 percent from the field over the first 20 minutes and made 6 of 11 3-pointers. Garner got Penn State started with a 3 on the Nittany Lions' first shot of the game. He and Banks combined for six 3s and Penn State led for all but 1:15.

Meanwhile, Illinois struggled to get its offense going. The Illini suffered through long scoreless stretches. Two notable droughts of 3:15 and 3:29 saw Penn State drop a combined 20 points. None were nicer than a dunk from Watkins after a masterful, behind-the-back setup from Terrence Samuel.

As Samuel drove to the net, he leapt and fed Watkins with a bounce pass and the forward finished to give Penn State a 43-23 lead.

The Illini had a few plays in the second half when they mounted a 35-20 run and cut Penn State's lead to 65-62 on a Coleman-Lands 3-pointer.

They pulled within two on a Hill 3-pointer but Garner and Josh Reaves were perfect from the foul line down the stretch, making 6-of-6 shots to keep the game out of reach.