Lamar Stevens and Rasir Bolton split 50 points equally Monday night as Penn State pulled away from visiting Jacksonville State late in the second half to pick up a 76-61 win in University Park, Pa.

Stevens' 25 points came on 9-of-18 shooting from the field, and he also added a team-high nine rebounds while playing the full 40 minutes. Bolton, a freshman, came off the bench to hit 8 of 14 shots and score 25 as the Nittany Lions upped their record to 2-0.

Tennessee transfer Detrick Mostella paced the Gamecocks (0-2) with 17 points, while Jason Burnell added 14 points and 12 rebounds for a double-double. Christian Cunningham chipped in 10 points, but Jacksonville State sank only 39.7 percent of its field-goal attempts.

The Gamecocks were outscored 30-8 off the bench and also committed 16 turnovers, leading to 16 Penn State points.

Trailing 37-32 at halftime, Jacksonville State made up the deficit quickly, answering a Stevens layup with seven straight points to tie the game. Cunningham's layup with 17:26 remaining knotted the score at 39.

But the Nittany Lions responded with a 20-9 run, with Stevens converting a 3-point play with 8:24 left to make it 59-48. Burnell's layup with 4:44 remaining drew Jacksonville State within 61-55, but Bolton passed to Josh Reaves for a 3-ball with 3:18 on the clock to up the margin to 66-55.

The teams worked through seven lead changes and three ties in a competitive first half. Neither team led by more than four points until Mostella canned a jumper at the 9:21 mark to put the Gamecocks ahead 18-14.

Penn State made a push from that point on, taking a 37-30 advantage when Myles Dread sank a 3-pointer with 34 seconds remaining. Burnell closed the half by leaning in for a jumper that rolled around the rim and went in just before time expired, bringing Jacksonville State within five at intermission.

Reaves finished with 11 for the Nittany Lions.

--Field Level Media