Oct. 27, 2007
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA., Oct. 27, 2007 - Penn State's seniors led an offensive highlight show Saturday as the Nittany Lion basketball team played an entertaining Blue-White Game in front of more than 3,000 fans in the Bryce Jordan Center.
Two-time All-Big Ten honoree Geary Claxton (West Haven, Conn.) started the game 7-of-7 from the field and senior forward Brandon Hassell (Farmersville, Ohio) was a perfect 11-of-11 for the game to lead the White to a 104-95 victory. Senior guard Mike Walker (Lewisberry, Pa.) led all scorers with 33 points on 9-of-16 shooting from behind the arc, many coming from the 22-foot range, and added 10 assists as he tried to lead the Blue Team back from a 54-45 halftime deficit.
Claxton was electric in the first half as he scored 12 straight points during one stretch scoring with a variety of moves from all over the floor. He knocked down four, first half threes to stake the White to an early lead. The senior forward ended the game with 28 points, six rebounds, six assists and two blocks. Hassell threw down several dunks and played strong in the paint as he posted 22 points and 10 rebounds for the game.
Redshirt freshman David Jackson (Farrell, Pa.) was also strong for the White before switching over to the Blue for the second half and ended the game with 23 points, seven rebounds and three assists. True freshman guard Talor Battle (Albany, New York) made several terrific passes and ended the day with 15 assists, 10 points and five rebounds for the White. Junior Danny Morrissey (Cleveland, Ohio) added 17 points and five rebounds and freshman Steve Kirkpatrick (Carlisle, Pa.) posted four points and four rebounds.
Redshirt freshman Andrew Jones (Philadelphia, Pa.) did strong work in the paint for the Blue leading all players with 13 rebounds and adding 18 points on the day. Junior transfer Stanley Pringle (Virginia Beach, Va.) filled up three areas of the box score posting eight points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Junior Joonas Suotamo (Espoo, Finland) added four points and four rebounds.
Walker went 3-for-3 from the arc to start the second half as the Blue closed the gap on the White. The two teams combined to hit 28-of-74 threes on the day as balls flew from behind the arc in a fast-paced, up-and-down game.
A Jackson follow and Pringle lay-up on a feed from Walker cut the White lead to 77-73. A couple of White team buckets again extended the margin until a put-back by freshman Jeff Brooks (Louisville, Ky.) cut the margin to four, 79-75. Brooks ended the day with seven points and six rebounds.
The Blue got within three, 86-83, on a pair of Brooks free throws, but a pair of threes from Battle and junior transfer Schyler King (El Paso, Texas), who posted seven points and five rebounds, extended the White lead to 96-85 and they had control from there.
Penn State will play an exhibition game in the Bryce Jordan Center on Nov. 7 vs. Slippery Rock. That game is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff.