As the first half of Penn State’s 69-49 victory over Dartmouth (5-6) drew to a close, the Nittany Lions already had a commanding 39-16 lead on the Big Green.

For D.J. Newbill, however, this wasn’t enough. The 6-foot-4 guard — as he’s done so many times during his three years in Happy Valley — sliced and diced his way through the defense, blazing a path to the right side of the basket, and threw it down with authority as the first half’s buzzer sounded.

(GIF by Darian Somers)

The 41-16 lead after the first 20 minutes was the largest for Penn State (12-1) all season long. The 12 wins for Penn State also set a program record for non-conference victories.

Newbill led the way for the Lions with 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting, while Geno Thorpe followed with 12. John Johnson and Brandon Taylor also contributed 10 points apiece in the victory. Taylor controlled the glass as well, leading all players with eight rebounds.

The Lions’ defense was stifling yet again, holding the Big Green to only 35 percent shooting from the field, and just 10 percent (2-of-20) from beyond the arc on the afternoon.

Due to the blowout nature of the game, fourth-year coach Patrick Chambers was distributed some minutes to players outside of his usual rotation, including transfer guard Devin Foster and seniors Alan Wisniewski and Kevin Montminy.

It’s by far the best start yet for Chambers, who all season long has been preaching for his team to play a "full 40 minutes," of basketball. It seemed like he may have gotten just that in his team’s final tune-up before it enters Big Ten play next week, taking on No. 6 Wisconsin in Madison on New Year’s Eve.