Nov. 28, 2007
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; November 28, 2007 - After shooting 53 percent from the field to take as much as a 13-point first half lead, the Penn State men's basketball team held off a second-half surge from Virginia Tech (2-3) to secure the program's second all-time victory in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge with a 66-61 triumph Wednesday in the Bryce Jordan Center. The Nittany Lions were energized by a crowd of 9,368 and a large and vocal student section in the game played before a national television audience on ESPN2.
"After coming off three losses, it was so helpful for us," freshman Talor Battle (Albany, N.Y.) said of the crowd. "Virginia Tech was coming off two losses to two ranked and we knew they were ready to play. I think that helped us. Even when they went on a run, the crowd stayed with us and we fed off of that. We made some big baskets. They helped us on the defensive end and I think that was key to our win tonight."
Behind a valiant 17-point effort from senior Mike Walker (Lewisberry, Pa.) and solid play from its freshmen, Penn State improved to 3-3 on the year despite getting just 12 combined points from leading scorers Geary Claxton (West Haven, Conn.), saddled with foul trouble much of the night, and Jamelle Cornley (Columbus, Ohio). Walker posted 7-of-13 shooting on the night, including three baskets from behind the arc. Battle added nine points and three assists and just one turnover in a team-high 35 minutes of action. Redshirt freshman David Jackson (Farrell, Pa.) also scored nine points, including a pair of crucial free throws with under 10 seconds to play.
"We just have a different attitude this year as a team," Walker said of the Lions victory following an 0-3 performance at the Old Spice Classic. "We didn't get down as a team. We came in on Monday and had a light practice, kept our spirits up. The leaders have done pretty well. These two guys Battle and Brooks) as freshmen have kept everyone's spirits up and kept everyone smiling. It's just been more fun. It's not all work and we don't get anything out of it. We're trying to have fun and win at the same time."
The Nittany Lions successfully utilized a line-up with four freshmen and Walker for much of the night. Battle and fellow freshman Andrew Jones (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Jeff Brooks (Louisville, Ky.) all started marking the first time Penn State had three freshmen starters since Walker, Claxton and Danny Morrissey (Cleveland, Ohio) in the 2004-05 season. Penn State finished the contest shooting 47.3 percent from the field on 26-of-55 shooting and sank seven of their 20 attempts from behind the arc
Jeff Allen led the Hokies, who closed within one three times in the second half, with a game-high 18 points and 14 rebounds. Deron Washington chipped in with 12 points, while A.D. Vassallo scored 10 points. Virginia Tech finished the game shooting 43.3 percent from the field and only 15.4 percent (2-13) from behind the arc. The Hokies out-rebounded the Nittany Lions 36-31.
After trailing 6-0 with 18:52 to play in the first half, Penn State took control of the contest. The Nittany Lions took a 13-10 lead with 14:08 to play in the first half, and never looked back.
Behind blistering hot shooting, Penn State headed to the locker room at the end of the first 20 minutes with a 38-28 edge. The Nittany Lions shot 53.3 percent from the field (16-30) in the opening half. Walker led all scorers with nine points on 3-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc. Battle added seven points and two assists after going 3-4 from the field in 15 minutes of action. Penn State limited the Hokies to just 37.7 percent from the field and out-scored Virginia Tech 25-12 in the final 11:35 of the first half.
Penn State pushed the lead to 13 on a Morrissey three to start the second half, but Virginia Tech gradually chipped away at the lead throughout the first 10 minutes of the second half closing to within five, 45-40, with 11:31 to play and setting the stage for a thrilling finish.
The Hokies got within one on a Hank Thorns three with 8:58 to play and again on an Allen lay-up seconds later but could never capture the lead. A jumper by Brooks and six straight from Walker extended the Penn State lead to seven, 58-51, with 5:27 to play.
A pair of Allen free throws and a basket from Vassallo drew the Hokies within one again, 60-59 with 1:10 on the clock. That would be as close as the Hokies would get. On the next possession, Battle glided to the basket and floated a tear-drop through the net to put the Nittany Lions back up by three points with 39 seconds on the clock.
A Delaney three-pointer sailed off the mark for Virginia Tech, sending junior Jamelle Cornley (Columbus, Ohio) to the line at the other end. The junior calmly sank both free throws to give Penn State a five-point lead with 26 seconds remaining. Nevertheless, Virginia Tech was not done, as Thorns brought the Hokies to within three points with 17 seconds to play in the game. Following two missed foul shots from Walker, Virginia Tech had a chance to tie the ball game, but was unable to capitalize.
Jackson iced the 66-61 victory with two free throws with seven seconds remaining.
Penn State went nearly seven minutes without a field goal in the second half while Virginia Tech shot 52 percent in the half. David Jackson's lay-up with 9:42 to play put Penn State back on top by a score of 48-44. Nonetheless, Virginia Tech's Hank Thorns knocked down a three-pointer on the left wing after Walker missed a lay-up, which ultimately marked a five-point swing with the score reading 48-47 with 8:58 to play.
Walker came back with a leaning 15-foot jumper on the next possession, which put the Nittany Lions on top, 50-47. Following a Brooks jumper and another leaning basket from Walker, Virginia Tech burned a 20-second timeout with Penn State holding a 54-49 lead with 6:36 to play. Despite a Hokie basket after the timeout, Walker continued to put on a show at the offensive end of the floor.
After snagging a loose ball at mid-court, the Lion senior glided to the bucket for a lay-up. The Nittany Lions forced a Hokie turnover, which led to another Walker jumper, which marked his eighth point of the half and sixth consecutive for the Nittany Lions. His consecutive baskets put the Lions up by a score of 58-51 with 5:27 to play.
In the first half, it was Virginia Tech getting off to a fast start. After the Hokies came out of the gate scoring the game's first six points in just 1:08, the Nittany Lions countered with a 10-4 run of their own. Fueled by back-to-back baskets by Battle, including a steal and a breakaway lay-in, Penn State knotted the game at 10 five minutes into the first half of play.
After a Morrissey three-pointer gave Penn State a 13-10 lead, Terrell Bell capped off a 6-0 Virginia Tech run, which put the Hokies back on top by a score of 16-13 with 11:52 to play in the first half. However, the Nittany Lions scored seven consecutive points, five of which were set up by turnovers created by Pringle. The 7-0 run kick-started a five minute span in which the Nittany Lions out-scored the Hokies 17-6 on hot shooting from behind the arc from Walker and Pringle. The run allowed Penn State to take a 30-22 lead with 5:30 to play in the first half.
Coming off the media timeout, the hot shooting continued as Jackson skied for a two-handed dunk to put the Lions up by 10. Walker then netted his third three-pointer of the half to extend Penn State's run to 10-0, handing the Lions a 35-22 lead with 3:25 to play in the half. Much of the 22-6 run by the Nittany Lions was done with four rookies on the floor.
A Deron Washington jumper ended a nearly four minute drought for the Hokies. Virginia Tech closed out the half on a brief 6-2 run, which sent the two teams into the break with the scoreboard reading 38-28.
The ACC ended the challenge with an 8-3 edge over the Big Ten.
Penn State will next travel to St. Joseph's for their first true road game of the season Saturday. The Nittany Lions and Hawks will battle at 4 p.m. at The Palestra.
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