Aug. 30, 2008
Toronto, Canada, Aug. 30, 2008 - The Penn State men's basketball team got an early jump on the 2008-09 season Saturday as they posted a pair of wins over Canadian colleges to begin a four-game three day exhibition tour of Canada over Labor Day weekend.
Penn State took on The University of Waterloo and Sheridan College on Saturday at Sheridan's Davis campus just 40 minutes outside of Toronto. The Nittany Lions downed Waterloo 83-52 in the opener and then dropped host Sheridan 83-65 in the nightcap. Senior forward Jamelle Cornley (Columbus, Ohio) led the team in scoring in both games posting 13 and 17 points while fellow senior Stanley Pringle (Virginia Beach, Va.) posted 11 in both.
Despite a tough shooting performance in the opener, Penn State used its pressure defense and advantage in speed and quickness to pull away from a game Waterloo team in the second half and post a 31-point victory. Cornley led Penn State in scoring with 13 points while Pringle had 11 and several steals and nice assists. All 14 Nittany Lions that made the trip, sophomore transfer Andrew Ott is not yet eligible to travel or play under NCAA rules, scored in the game. Talor Battle (Albany, N.Y.) added nine points, despite a 1-of-6 effort from three, and David Jackson (Farrell, Pa.) and Danny Morrissey (Cleveland, Ohio) both added eight apiece.
Penn State held a 33-21 lead at the half, but Waterloo came out firing in the early minutes of the third quarter and Dan White hit three-straight threes to cut the margin to 39-33. White's nine points would lead Waterloo. Meanwhile, sophomore Drew Jones (Philadelphia, Pa.) picked up his fourth foul just seconds into the period and had to go to the bench limiting Penn State's options in the paint.
The Nittany Lions simply turned up the full-court pressure defense and started causing turnovers to go on an 11-1 run fueled by the defense. Pringle led the charge reeking havoc with his quick hands and feet. His three and a lay-up from Cornley gave Penn State a 56-36 edge and snuffed any hopes Waterloo had of a victory. A Pringle feed to freshman Billy Oliver (Chatham, N.J) and back-to-back buckets from fellow freshmen Cammeron Woodyard (Westminster, Md.) and Chris Babb (Arlington, Texas) gave Penn State a 62-40 lead.
Penn State held and easy cushion over 20 the rest of the way playing its bench most of the fourth quarter.
After a stop at a local mall for food and some rest, Penn State returned to Sheridan to face the hosting Bruins, the defending Ontario College Athletics Association champions.
Penn State's first five of Battle, Cornley, Pringle, Morrissey and Jackson showed crisp passing and ball movement to start the game and Penn State quickly jumped out to a 20-point lead. A pair of Morrissey threes, eight-straight points from Cornley and a pair of Battle threes staked the Lions to a 30-7 lead. Penn State went to its bench early and Sheridan used numerous free throws and a bit of disjointed Nittany Lion play to climb back to within 11, 42-31. Penn State took a 44-31 lead to the half after a nice feed from Pringle to Oliver for a bucket to close the first 20.
Returning to its starting five to start the second half, Penn State once again quickly increased the lead on Sheridan. Penn State went up 56-39 on a pass from Battle to Cornley for a lay-up and a Pringle hit a three to make it 59-39 with 14:55 to play.
A Cammeron Woodyard three gave Penn State a 67-40 with 12:20 left and the Lions extended to their largest lead, 71-42, after a pair of Woodyard free throws. Sheridan got the lead back around 20 for most of the rest of the game as Penn State substituted liberally. Shane Cox led Sheridan with 18 points on four threes.
The Nittany Lions return to action tomorrow as they take on the Ryerson University Rams at 7:00 p.m. in Toronto. The Rams finished with a 7-15 record in the East Division of the OUA last season.