STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Tim Frazier scored 18 points and Penn State withstood a 3-point shooting barrage in the second half by Iowa’s Matt Gatens to hold on for a 69-64 victory on Thursday night.

Trailing 66-63 with 49 seconds left, Iowa’s Melsahn Basabe missed two foul shots and Jon Graham was fouled at the other end for Penn State (12-15, 4-10 Big Ten). The redshirt freshman forward hit two free throws for a five-point lead, spurring a silent Jordan Center crowd into raucous cheers. Basabe missed another foul shot with 7 seconds left and Cammeron Woodyard went 1 of 2 from the line to seal the win.

Gatens hit 5 of 7 from behind the 3-point arc in the second half. He scored 11 straight for Iowa (13-13, 5-8) at one point to help narrow a 16-point deficit to two with 2:40 left.Gatens finished with a game-high 21 points.He missed all five of his field-goal attempts in the first half before his second-half spurt, sinking shots from wide open in the corner or with a defender’s hand in his face from the wing.

Penn State went cold on the other end going scoreless for four-plus minutes as coach Patrick Chambers watched his team’s big lead get whittled away. But the rebuilding Nittany Lions held on down the stretch for their second straight Big Ten win despite getting outscored in the second half 40-31. Frazier, Penn State’s sparkplug, coolly led his team down the stretch, before Graham and Woodyard stepped up at the foul line late. Frazier added four assists and four steals.

Graham, already having one of the best games of his young career, added to his short highlight reel with his two key foul shots. Graham finished with 10 points and six rebounds, and went 3 of 3 from the field. Woodyard added 13 points.

Aaron White added 16 points and 10 rebounds for Iowa, while Basabe finished with seven points and three rebounds off the bench.