State College, Pa. - November 2, 2003 - The Penn State Nittany Lion basketball team opened up the 2003-04 season with a close 87-86 exhibition loss to the EA Sports Southeast All Stars. New head coach Ed DeChellis got a double-double from junior Jan Jagla (Berlin, Germany) in the game.
The Nittany Lions bolted out of the gate early and scored the game's first seven points. EA Sports would battle back in the half, grabbing a momentary 24-23 lead at the 9:10 mark. But Penn State would use an up-tempo offense and a dominating rebounding effort to take a 43-36 lead into the lockerrooms.
Junior Kevin Fellows (Meridian, Idaho) led Penn State in the first half with a solid 11-point performance, going a perfect five for five from the field. Classmate Jagla secured a double-double early with a ten-point, ten-rebound half as well. Freshman Marlon Smith (Bronx, N.Y.) had six points, hitting two three-pointers. Penn State out-rebounded EA 24-17 in the first half, led by Jagla's ten.
Jagla opened up the second half by hitting one of two free throws, giving Penn State a 44-36 lead, but EA would outscore Penn State 12-5 over the next three-plus minutes to cut the Penn State lead to just one, 49-48, at the 16:03 mark (on a three-pointer by Ajani Williams). Penn State would bounce back, however, going on a 10-2 run to grab its biggest lead of the game. DeForrest Riley-Smith (Cincinnati, Ohio) hit a three-pointer at the 12:04 mark to put the Lions up 59-50.
In a game of runs, the EA squad would then real off one of its own, outscoring Penn State 13-3 over the next five minutes to lead 63-62 at the 7:19 mark. The game would be a seesaw affair the rest of the way, with EA leading by as many as four and Penn State grabbing a six point lead.
Smith's three-pointer at the 1:39 mark had the Nittany Lions up 84-78. EA would answer with two Mark Jones three-pointers sandwiching and Brandon Cameron (Gary, Ind.) lay-up. The latter of Jones' treys was turned into a four-point play when he converted the free throw attempt after being fouled. The free throw cut the Lion lead to one, 86-85, with :34 remaining. EA Sports grabbed the victory when Jordan Harris made a put-back lay-up with just :04 to play, securing the 87-86 win.
Jagla ended the game with 13 points and 17 rebounds while Smith had 19 in his Penn State debut. The 6-0 point guard from the Bronx hit six of 12 field goals, including five treys. Riley-Smith had 16 points and five assists, Fellows had 11 points and Cameron had 10 points and six boards. EA was led by Jones, who had 26 points.
Penn State will return to exhibition action on Monday, November 10, when it welcomes Team Nike to the Bryce Jordan Center. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
Penn State Head Coach Ed DeChellis:
Initial observations on his first game:
"I was really looking to get everyone in the game and I think that was positive. I thought we did some good things and I think the young kids played well. Guys just needed to get some game minutes and play. Marlon Smith was very solid for us. He took some crazy shots but overall he played well. We just have to concentrate on making plays. With this being the first game under the lights with the fans, I thought we played well. We need to work on some things though."
How does this game reflect the conditioning of your players so far?
"A lot of the guys are in pretty good shape. I think everyone else isn't out of shape but they haven't been able to condition because of minor injuries that have hurt them a little bit. We have to work on that the next two weeks and get our conditioning to where it needs to be. I don't think we are awful by any stretch."
How did the overall competitiveness of EA Sports help your team?
"They are very talented and have very good individual players. I think that's important because they were able to take us off the dribble. We are not a very good team breaking people down and it's good to play against guys who are good at that. I think we can go back and talk about our footwork. It was a good test for us.
Were you happy with how the offense ran up and down the court?
"I don't think we got up and back quick enough, we are shaky on that. We didn't really finish our plays sometimes and we broke a lot of things off. But right now it's all new for these guys. It's going to take some time and we are going to try and get better everyday."
What do you expect for the team at this point?
"We're not there quite yet. Our press offense needs work. Some of the injuries have turned us sideways for the time being. Some of the other guys are getting time but we aren't where we need to be right now. I don't think we had a problem scoring. I thought we made some shots and we took some tough ones as well."
Talk about the play of Marlon Smith
"I think (Marlon) Smith played very well. His shot selection needs work but he had a solid game for being a freshman."
Penn State Player Quotes
Jan Jagla
What'd you get out of the game?
"I think we got a lot out of this. We didn't get the win, but that wasn't the most important thing."
How were you getting yourself in good position to rebound today?
"17 [rebounds]- That's a lot. I'm kind of surprised. There is a lot of things- knowing where the ball's coming down and getting to that spot."
Is it fair to say that Coach DeChellis has made you a better player?
"I think so. The type of basketball we play now and the things he demands of you have definitely made me better."
Marlon Smith
Did you learn some things today?
"I learned a lot today. I'm going to have to be a little more patient. I think I improved a lot with communication and talking in the team huddles."
What are some things that allowed them to get back into the game in the second half?
"We should have got after it a little more and stuck with our mean on defense."