| Mooch Jackson scored 11 points and dished out five assists in the win. |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; January 3, 2007 ?C Still feeling frisky from a school record 129-point outing in their last game, Penn State (10-4; 1-0 Big Ten) scorched the nets against Northwestern (10-4; 0-1 Big Ten) in its Big Ten opener Wednesday in the Bryce Jordan Center. The Nittany Lions shot a season-high 64 percent (32-50) from the floor and ran away with an 83-57 victory.
The 26-point win, Penn State??s first in a Big Ten season opener since 2004, marked the Nittany Lions' largest victory margin in Big Ten play since downing Northwestern by 33 points (82-49) in 2000. It was Penn State??s highest point production in the Big Ten since scoring 87 in a losing effort vs. Ohio State (93-87) in 2001 and its first 80-point game in Big Ten play since an 81-68 win over Purdue in 2002. Penn State had its best shooting night since posting a 64.8 percent mark vs. Lock Haven in December of 2004 and it??s best outing in Big Ten play since shooting 68.0 percent vs. Northwestern in 1998 ?C Penn State??s best ever mark in Big Ten play. This against a Northwestern team that entered the night leading the Big Ten allowing opponents just 53.6 points per game.
??We made perimeter shots and it opened things up,?? Penn State coach Ed DeChellis said. ??I thought we were pretty sharp offensively. Against the zones and match-ups it??s hard sometimes to get the ball inside, and I thought we were very, very sharp offensively.??
Penn State??s numbers sat at 69.6 percent for the game and 80.0 percent for the second half before DeChellis began pulling his starters and clearing his bench with just over three minutes to play in the game.
Sophomore Danny Morrissey (Cleveland, Ohio) led the charge for Penn State, scoring a career-high 24 points and equaling a career-best with six threes on the night. Morrissey hit 6-of-9 from behind the arc, part of a sizzling 10-of-17 (58.8 percent) effort from the arc for Penn State on the night. Geary Claxton (West Haven, Conn.) posted 15 points and six boards. Jamelle Cornley (Columbus, Ohio) and Mooch Jackson (Gaithersburg, Md.) each added 11 with Jackson adding a team-best five assists.
??I thought we got very good guard play tonight,?? DeChellis said. ??I thought Mooch, Ben, and Danny really handled the ball well. I think those guys had like 15 assists and maybe four turnovers. I thought that was very important.??
Penn State tallied 22 assists against a season-low 10 turnovers and out-rebounded Northwestern 32-18 while holding the Wildcats to 39.6 percent (19-48) shooting on the night. The Nittany Lions held the Wildcats leading scorer Kevin Coble (13.5 ppg) scoreless and neutralized Northwestern??s motion offense with an effective zone. Northwestern was led by sophomore Craig Moore who scored 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the three-point line.
??For the most part we have played Northwestern zone,?? DeChellis said. ??I??m not chasing them around. I??m not guarding all that stuff man-to-man. I just refuse. So, We??re just going to play them zone and guard the guys who can shoot and the chips fall were they may.??
Penn State took a 36-24 lead into halftime after shooting 61.5 percent and getting a big first 20 minutes from Morrissey. Starting his 10th game of the season, the 6-3 guard shot 3-of-5 from the three-point line and had 13 points in the first stanza. Northwestern stayed close by shooting 7-of-15 from three, getting all but one of their eight first half field goals from behind the arc. Northwestern??s first five field goals of the game all came from three-point range and they didn??t record their first two-point bucket until 6:18 left in the half.
The Lions held a slim 13-12 lead midway through the half after a three from Northwestern??s Vince Scott. Penn State then went on a 17-5 run to take a 30-17 lead with 2:26 left in the half. The run was sparked by back-to-back threes from Ben Luber and Morrissey. Morrissey, who had 11 of Penn State??s first 21 points, had another three in the run, Mike Walker added a trey, Cornley had two buckets and Brandon Hassell one.
Hassell fed Claxton with a nice pass along the baseline and the 6-5 junior finished to give Penn State a 32-21 lead. Penn State scored the last four points of the half, getting a nice jumper from Jackson and a lay-up in the closing seconds from Morrissey after he picked a Northwestern player's pocket at the top of the key as the Wildcats looked to set up a final play.
Penn State expanded the lead to 21 (49-28) five minutes into the second half when Claxton threw down one of several dunks on the night off an assist from Jackson. The Lions outscored the Wildcats 8-1 over the next three minutes, getting threes from Jackson and Luber and a pair of Cornley free throws to take a 28-point lead (57-29) with 11:53 to play.
Claxton pulled a defensive rebound and kicked ahead to Jackson who drove for a nice lay-up that brought the Penn State bench to its feet and pushed the margin to 30 (73-43) with 6:15 to play. The Lions held as much as a 34-point lead (80-46) when Jackson scored another lay-up with 3:58 to play; DeChellis cleared his bench shortly after.
Penn State will head to West Lafayette, Ind. to take on Purdue Saturday in a 12:15 tip. Penn State swept the Boilermakers in two games last season posting a 69-60 win at Purdue and a 75-54 victory in the Jordan Center.
The game can be heard live on GoPSUsports.com and the Penn State Sports Network and will be televised by ESPN Regional (check local listings).