Redshirt senior Eric Curry scored a career-high 22 points in his sixth season to jolt the Gophers men’s basketball team to a 76-70 win over Penn State. A second-half burst from Minnesota’s guards was enough to end a five-game losing streak.

Curry was dominant Saturday night, while seniors Payton Willis, Luke Loewe and Eylijah Stephens came alive in the second half and got the job done down the stretch.

With under four minutes remaining, Loewe scored a layup to propel an 11-3 run to close out the game. Stephens came in clutch, hitting five of six from the free-throw line down the stretch.

It was a back and forth contest throughout the night with neither team being able to grab ahold of the game. Penn State and Minnesota saw 13 different lead changes throughout the Big Ten battle.

Minnesota had one of its worst turnover games of the season in its loss to Ohio State earlier in the week, against the Nittany Lions, it turned the ball over just three times. On the other end, the Gophers turned 13 turnovers into 26 points.

Curry’s 22 points were the story of the night, but it was the guard push down the stretch that got the job done. Willis was efficient from deep, hitting three of four from deep on his way to 18 points. He also was making plays around him and came down with another double-double dishing out 10 assists.

Willis had another quiet first half, scoring just five of his 18 points. Loewe was in a similar boat, scoring just two points in the opening half. He got himself into double figures as well, scoring nine more in the second half, but failed to hit on any of his three deep balls.

The Gophers have consistently been getting beaten on the glass, but that didn’t come back on them on  Saturday. Penn State out-rebounded Minnesota 36-21, but just merely beat them on the second-chance points.

Minnesota has a busy schedule in the coming week and will face Ohio State Tuesday on the road and try and get a winning streak going.