Nov. 7, 2007
In its final tune-up prior to the season-opener against Saint Francis, the Nittany Lion men's basketball team forced 22 turnovers and used big runs to cruise past Slippery Rock, 94-57, on Wednesday at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Danny Morrissey (Cleveland, Ohio) led the way for Penn State with 17 points on 5-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc. Mike Walker (Lewisberry, Pa.) added 14 points, including a trio of 3-pointers.
Also in double figures was a pair of Lions in their Penn State debut. Freshman Talor Battle (Albany, N.Y.) filled the stat sheet in his first appearance with an electric 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting from two-point range. Battle also had five steals, five assists and five rebounds. Junior Stanley Pringle (Virginia Beach, Va.) scored 11 points in 24 minutes during his Penn State debut.
Penn State blew the game open with a 17-2 run in the first four minutes of the second half to take a 57-26 lead. Just as they did in the first half, Penn State came out of the locker room on fire. Walker nailed a pair of threes and a lay in off a beautiful touch pass from Geary Claxton (West Haven, Conn.) to cap off the run. A Jamar Scales jumper for the Rock snapped the scoring frenzy from Penn State. From there, the Lions led by as much as 44 points on their way to the 37-point victory.
Claxton chipped in with eight points, while freshman Jeff Brooks (Louisville, Ky.) and senior Brandon Hassell (Farmersville, Ohio) added six points apiece. Brooks led the way on the glass with seven boards.
For Slippery Rock, junior Jamar Scales led the way. He finished the night with 16 points. The Nittany Lions finished the night shooting 46.7 percent on 35-of-75 shooting, while Slippery Rock shot 31.6 percent on 18-of-57 shooting. Penn State shot 40.7 percent from behind the arc. The Lions also controlled the glass, as they out-rebounded the Pride 49-32.