Talor Battle scored 16 points as Penn State won for the third time in four games, beating American 76-57 on Monday.
The Nittany Lions (8-4) made 12 of their first 15 shots of the second half and finished at 54.9 percent from the field (28-for-51). Chris Babb scored 13 points and Bill Edwards had 12 for Penn State.
American (2-10), playing for the second time in as many days, got 17 points each from Vlad Moldoveanu and Nick Hendra.
Battle hit a wide-open 3-pointer with 1:19 left in the first half that gave Penn State a 36-25 lead, but the Eagles closed to within six on a 3-pointer by Hendra and a transition dunk by Riley Grafft in the final minute.
The Nittany Lions started the second half with a 15-1 run capped by consecutive 3-pointers by Babb, Edwards and Battle to take a 51-31 lead with 15 minutes left in the game.
