Nov. 7, 2007
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; November 7, 2007 - In its final tune-up prior to the season-opener against Saint Francis next Monday, the Nittany Lion basketball team forced 22 turnovers, made 11 three-pointers 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 three-pointers.
Also in double figures was a pair of Lions making 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, five steals, five assists and five rebounds. Junior Stanley Pringle (Virginia Beach, Va.) scored 11 points in 24 minutes during his Penn State debut.
"I thought we had a pretty nice defensive intensity to start the game, we were looking for that, and I think we shot the ball well to start the game," Penn State coach Ed DeChellis said. "Then we got a little flat and then the guys came back and got some steals.
"I think our perimeter guards played pretty solid, made some shots. Talor (Battle) didn't make as many shots as he has been making, but he affected the game. He had five steals and got some easy baskets and got some foul shots, so I think our perimeter guys were pretty solid. The new guys got their feet wet and I think that was important. We need to do a lot better in the post. We didn't get post scoring tonight, but we've got to try to get those two guys (Jamelle Cornley and David Jackson) back, and if we do that, then I think our post scoring will take care of itself."
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, Scales led the way. He finished the night with 16 points.
Penn State was without junior Jamelle Cornley (Columbus, Ohio), who suffered a bruised bone in his left knee in the Blue-White Game on Oct. 27, and freshman David Jackson (Farrell, Pa.), who sat for precautionary reasons after experiencing some discomfort last week in the left leg in which a stress fracture kept him sidelined last season. Jackson was expected to practice later in the week while Cornley will miss 2-3 weeks.
"The same thing he had last year acted up last Friday, so we shut him down for four days," DeChellis said of Jackson. "We're going to try to ease him back into practice tomorrow and a little bit Friday and Saturday. Hopefully, he can give us some time next Monday.
Claxton, Brooks, Hassell, Walker and Morrissey started for Penn State in the exhibition game. Battle and Pringle played much of the game on the floor together and they as well as Walker rotated at the point-guard position.
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 Rock 49-32.
The first half of play was a streak-filled affair, which ended with the Nittany Lions on top by a 40-24 margin. Penn State forced 16 Rock turnovers in a sloppy half. Morrissey led the way for the Lions at the break with nine markers on 3-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc. However, Battle's electric play in the open court during the first stanza stole the show. The Lion rookie notched eight points, four steals and a pair of assists in 15 minutes of play in his first collegiate half.
The Nittany Lions came out of the gate smoking, as they quickly built a 13-0 lead on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor before Slippery Rock burned a 20-second timeout with 16:55 to play. Keyed by four Slippery Rock turnovers, and hot shooting from the field, Penn State notched the early double-digit lead. Claxton, Morrissey and Walker netted back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to give the Lions the 13-0 lead in the first 3:05 of the game.
After another deep Walker 3-pointer, Penn State led 16-2 with the clock reading 16:25, but the Rock came right back with a 10-0 run of their own. Three consecutive Scales jumpers fueled the Slippery Rock run, which cut the Lion lead to 16-12 with 13:20 to play in the first half.
Battle put a halt to the Rock run with a steal and a breakaway two-handed dunk for his first points in a Nittany Lion uniform. Over the next 4:50, the Nittany Lions ended their brief cold shooting spell from the floor, and blew the game wide open. Other than a pair of Erroll Robinson free throws for Slippery Rock, Penn State jetted out to a 17-2 edge, which was keyed by stellar play from Battle. The freshman netted six points, three steals and one assist during the scoring streak. The two teams closed out the half with some sloppy play, but the Lions took a 16-point lead into the locker room.
After going on the 17-2 run to start the second half, Penn State scored 11 of the next 17 points to secure a 68-32 lead with 11:34 to play. Just as was the case in the first half, Battle's play in the open floor fueled the Nittany Lions off the bench. From there, the Lions coasted to the 94-57 victory.
Penn State out-scored the Rock 54-33 in the second half. In all, 11 Nittany Lions entered the scorebook in the only exhibition game of the season.
Penn State will host Saint Francis on Monday in the first game of the 2007-08 season. The game will tip at 7:00 p.m. at the Bryce Jordan Center and can be seen via webcast at the BigTenNetwork.com.
-NITTANY LIONS-