With only seconds remaining, Tim Frazier donned his Talor Battle cap, drove into the lane between two Illinois defenders and sank a floater with eight seconds to go, knocking off 25th-ranked Fighting Illini, 54-52, Thursday night.

"He (Frazier) earned the right to take that shot," coach Pat Chambers said after the game. "And what I mean by that is he has worked so hard. Even when we don't have practice, he comes in and does extra shooting and work. He earned the right to take it."

Illinois was once again led by junior guard Brandon Paul, who was coming off of a 43-point performance against Ohio State. Penn State was able to limit Paul's production, although he still led all scorers with 20 points.

The Illini opened up a 17-10 lead with 9:56 remaining in the first half, but Penn State, led by Cam Woodyard's 17-point night, took a 25-23 halftime lead. Woodyard's 17 points were good enough for his second straight game leading the Nittany Lions; it was also his 10th game on the season in double digits.

"Tim had nine assists; he's finding me," Woodyard said. "He's finding me at times he knows that I can catch and shoot."

Penn State opened the second half on a 6-0 run, extending their halftime lead to 31-23 only three minutes into the second half. Illinois' first basket of the half marked the end of a scoreless streak of almost eight minutes that highlighted intense defensive pressure by the Nittany Lions.

"When you have confidence, you can do anything," Chambers said "I think this team has some confidence right now."

Illinois was able to close the gap to 48-47 with just under six minutes to play, but could not take the lead at any point in the game's final minutes.

A Brandon Paul three-pointer with 40 seconds tied the game at 52. Tim Frazier's 12-foot floater with eight seconds left broke the tie and with only 4.5 seconds remaining. A two-point attempt by Sam Maniscalco was blocked by Jermaine Marshall as time expired.

"I know the last time I was up here, I told you that if we played 40 minutes of Penn State basketball, the outcome would be different," Frazier said. "I think that's what we did: We played hard, we played gritty, and we focused on the little things."

Penn State's victory improves its record to (10-10, 2-5), and the Nittany Lions will head on the road to take on a Indiana team that has lost its last three games. Game time is set for noon Sunday in Assembly Hall.

Notes:

 Illinois entered the game tied atop the Big Ten rankings after beating No. 5 Ohio State, was held to 34 percent shooting and went just 7-of-22 from three against a Penn State defense that held its seventh opponent on the year to 55 points or fewer.

The game marked the sixth in the last eight meetings between the teams decided by two points or fewer and the seventh played between the two in the BJC decided by three points or fewer.

Tim Frazier has now had seven games where he has totaled nine or more assists.

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