Sept. 2, 2008
Toronto, Canada, Sept. 1, 2008 - The Penn State men's basketball team made it a perfect 4-0 on its Canadian exhibition tour Monday outside Toronto as the Nittany Lions jumped on York College early, held a 25-point lead at the half, and cruised home to a 38-point victory, 83-45.
Jamelle Cornley (Columbus, Ohio) led Penn State in scoring for the third time on the tour posting 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Andrew Jones (Philadelphia, Pa.) posted a double-double with 11 points and 12 boards. David Jackson (Farrell, Pa.) and Stanley Pringle (Virginia Beach, Va.) both had nine, Pringle adding four steals, and freshman Cammeron Woodyard (Westminster, Md.) added seven.
Talor Battle (Albany, N.Y.) had seven of the Lions 23 assists in the game as Penn State also racked up 16 steals and forced 20 turnovers while holding York to 27 percent shooting. Penn State shot 49 percent for the game and won the rebounding battle 41-29. With its starters playing the first and third quarters, the Nittany Lions outscored York 53-22.
Penn State concluded a productive and entertaining trip north with victories over Waterloo (83-52), Sheridan (83-65), Ryerson (102-68) and York.
Penn State dominated York in the lane and created havoc and easy looks with full court pressure. The Lions jumped out early 7-0 lead and held York to just 15 percent shooting in the first quarter and 20 percent for the half while grabbing eight steals and shooting 53 percent itself in the first 20 minutes of action. A pair of threes from Cornley and a dunk and several highlight finishes and passes from Battle fueled the Nittany Lions charge as coach Ed DeChellis spurred on his troops intense defense on from the sideline.
Penn State used a 12-0 run in the third quarter to take a 39-point lead and then went to its bench exclusively in the fourth quarter against a York team that played N.C. State to within four points (35-31) in the first half before falling to the Wolfpack 81-60 the day before.
The Nittany Lions will now return to their normal fall individual workouts and conditioning before opening practice again on Oct. 17, the NCAA's first official practice date. Penn State will play one more exhibition at the Bryce Jordan Center, vs. Bloomsburg on Nov. 9, before officially opening the season on Fri., Nov. 14 vs. William and Mary.