SCRANTON, Pa. - The Bard College men's basketball team outscored Penn State Abington 12-1 over the last 5:49 of the game to turn a nail-biter into a comfortable victory in the first round of the Hilton Scranton Invitational on Friday night.

In the end, it was all about defense.

Bard led by seven early in the first half, trailed by seven late in the first half, and it was 37-35 in favor of the Nittany Lions at halftime. The Raptors shot 42 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes, and Penn State Abington shot 50 percent. Foul trouble loomed as a possibility for both teams.

Penn State Abington maintained its slim lead through the first part of the first half - it was 50-47 with 13:29 left in the game - but Bard slowly took control as the Nittany Lions went stone cold from the field and the foul line.

Bard tied it for the first time in the second half on a Merritt Miller layup with 11:43 left, and it was tied for the last time at 53-53 about 30 seconds later. A three-pointer by Jelani Bell-Isaac gave Bard a lead it would not relinquish as the Raptors outscored the Nittany Lions 18-5 over the last 11:15 of the game. All this in spite of Bard having four players with four fouls over the last five minutes and 30 seconds.

Penn State Abington (0-2) was held to 5-of-25 shooting in the second half and went 11-of-20 from the free throw line. Kenny Bey-Brown (Philadelphia, PA), Austin Slawter (Philadelphia, PA) and John Ryan (Warminster, PA) each finished with 11 points apiece.

Bard (1-1) got a career-high 15 points from Chris Lockwood, 12 points and 11 rebounds from David Runcie, 12 points from freshman Emmanuel Oyakhilome, and 11 points from Harry Johnson. Armando Dunn chipped in with nine points, four rebounds and two blocks. The Raptors enjoyed a 44-26 rebounding advantage.

Up next for Bard is host Scranton, which defeated Sarah Lawrence in the nightcap. That game will be played at 4 on Saturday. Follow it via Live Stats right here.