Dec. 1, 2007
PHILADELPHIA, PA., DEC. 1, 2007 - Penn State fell to 3-4 on the season after being outscored 51-39 in the second half by St. Joseph's (4-2) which posted a 79-67 victory Saturday afternoon at the Palestra in Philadelphia. A large contingent of Penn State fans made up part of the crowd of 8,276 in one of the most historic buildings in college basketball.
Geary Claxton (West Haven, Conn.) led Penn State with 20 points despite playing just 10 minutes in the first half due to foul trouble. He went a career best 4-of-5 shooting from three. Danny Morrissey (Cleveland, Ohio) added 10 for the Nittany Lions who shot 42 percent (26-61) from the floor and 50 percent (8-16) from three but were outscored 18-7 at the free throw line and struggled to score at the beginning of both halves. Penn State committed 18 turnovers on the day and played with out junior standout Jamelle Cornley (Columbus, Ohio) who's injured left knee swelled up on Friday.
St. Joseph's was led by 25 points and 10 rebounds from Ahmad Nivins, who made 9-of-12 at the line. Nivins dominated in the post for St. Joe's which had four players in double-figures. Rob Ferguson and Darrin Govens both scored 15 with big second halves.
Penn State went to the locker room tied, 28-28, with the Hawks, but was outscored 27-14 in the first 10 minutes of the second half as St. Joseph's took a 55-42 lead. Both teams shot 51 percent from the floor in the half, but Penn State trailed at the charity stripe 11-3. A pair of Hawks threes by Govens and Ferguson pushed the margin to 61-42 with 9:06 to play and Penn State never threatened again losing for the first time to St. Joseph's in the last eight meetings. Penn State leads the series 13-9.
Penn State struggled out of the gate in the first half going scoreless for the first 3:30, while St. Joseph's jumped out to a 7-0 lead behind the early scoring of Nivins who posted eight of the Hawks first 10. Claxton finally got Penn State on the board with a jumper and followed with a three as he scored Penn State first eight points of the game, two on threes, as the Nittany Lions struggled to run their offense under St. Joe's man-to-man pressure.
Claxton had a hand in each of Penn State's first 12 points in the half, scoring 10 himself, before picking up a pair of fouls and heading to the bench with 9:39 to play in the half. Strong defense from freshmen Andrew Jones, Jeff Brooks and David Jackson, all of which recorded a block, kept Penn State in the game and Jackson made things happen on the glass recording five first half boards. Penn State got to within four, 22-16, at the 6:48 media timeout and then made a push cutting the lead to 24-21 on a pair of Brandon Hassell free throws.
Talor Battle tied the game at 27-27 driving into the lane and finishing an up-and-under lay-up with 1:09 to play. Rob Ferguson made a free throw to give St. Joe's the lead and the Hawks had a chance for the final shot. However, battle picked Tasheed Carr's pocket beyond the three-point line as the Hawks tried to set up a play and Carr was called for an intentional foul as he prevented a break-away lay-up. Battle made one of two free throws and Penn State failed to convert in the final seconds as they went to the locker room tied, 28-28. Both teams shot just 34 percent from the floor in the half and combined to go 3-15 from behind the arc.
Penn State will return to the Bryce Jordan Center next Saturday, Dec. 8 when they take on Seton Hall in an 8:00 p.m. tip on the Big Ten Network. Tickets for Nittany Lion basketball can be purchased by visiting the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office, calling 814-865-5555 or by clicking on the ticket link on www.GoPSUsports.com.