Nov. 9, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA., Nov. 9, 2008 - The Nittany Lion basketball team displayed a strong full-court press and diverse offensive attack Sunday in the Bryce Jordan Center as they dispatched Bloomsburg, 77-51, in an exhibition tune-up for the season opener this Friday vs. William and Mary.
Sophomore point-guard Talor Battle (Albany, N.Y.) led Penn State with 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting and was joined in double-figures by senior Danny Morrissey (Cleveland, Ohio) who posted 14 hitting his first four treys before finishing 4-of-6 from three. Sophomore David Jackson (Farrell, Pa.) also got 14 on the day going 8-of-8 from the charity stripe and 3-of-4 from the floor.
Penn State used full-court pressure to grab 14 steals and force 20 Bloomsburg turnovers. The Nittany Lions capitalized scoring 23 points off turnovers and pushed the ball up the court throughout the game to score 27 fast break points.
"We just used our basic thing tonight where we just trapped the first pass, rotated out, and then played man-to-man on the floor," Penn State coach Ed DeChellis said. "Just to give some pressure up the floor and get our guys going.
"I think the press is one of those things where you use three or four possessions and try and change the game and try to create some energy in the building. At that point you may need to get out of it. I don't think the younger guys understood it and didn't get to their spots quick enough. The older guys were there at the start when we did it and it was pretty effective." Penn State shot 44 percent for the game, logged 17 assists and took care of the ball, committing just six turnovers in their first action.
"We had great practices Friday and Saturday taking care of the ball," DeChellis said. "I was anxious to see how we took care of the ball today. I thought we did a very good job passing the ball well and delivering the ball. I thought that was good for us."
Bloomsburg was led by 16 points and 12 rebounds from 6-7 freshman forward Larry Webster who made 8-of-9 from the floor. The Huskies had three players in double-figures, but shot just 39 percent from the floor and 4-of-16 from three against Penn State's man-to-man defense.
The Nittany Lions started the game with senior's Jamelle Cornley, Stanley Pringle and Morrissey along with sophomore's Battle and Andrew Jones. Jones had a solid game posting eight points and team-high seven boards in 19 minutes.
A Battle three from the wing gave Penn State and early 8-2 lead three minutes in. Bloomsburg cut the margin to two, 10-8, before Penn State went on a 19-3 run to extend to an 18-point lead, 19-11, with 7:59 to play in the first half. Freshman Chris Babb grabbed one of his four steals on the game off a trap in the press and dished it to Battle for an easy lay-up. Pringle, Jackson, Babb, Morrissey and Battle all scored during the run as Penn State used its press to produce five steals, three from Babb who finished the game with four points, four assists and four steals.
Bloomsburg got back to within 12 points, 35-23, on a Ruben Britt jumper with 1:25 to play. Following a Pringle miss from three, Cammeron Woodyard gathered the rebound and put it right back as Penn State took a 37-24 lead to the locker room.
The Nittany Lions continued their full court press to start the second half as Cornely stole the ball and passed it off for a Morrissey three from the wing giving Penn State a 42-24 lead. Pringle stole the ball and started a fast break that ended in a Jones jumper to give Penn State a 23-point lead, 52-29. Morrissey and Battle hit back-to-back threes from each wing extending the lead to 60-34 with 13 minutes to play. Penn State eventually pushed the margin to 36, 77-41, with 5:14 to play after six straight free throws, four from Jackson and two from Steve Kirkpatrick. Penn State cleared its bench and Bloomsburg scored the final 10 points of the game for the final margin.
Penn State, picked to finish fifth in the Big Ten by Lindy's College Basketball pre-season magazine, officially opens the season on Friday, Nov. 14 with a 6:30 p.m. match-up with William and Mary. That game will be played the night before the football team's Nov. 15 match-up with Indiana in Beaver Stadium. Football tickets for the Indiana game can be shown at the door of the Bryce Jordan Center to receive a 2-for-1, buy-one-get-one free ticket to the game.
Nittany Lion basketball tickets can be purchased by calling the ticket office during regular business hours at 814-865-5555 or visiting GoPSUsports.com anytime. Penn State basketball offers the most flexible ticket package ever with the 2009 FLEX pack. For just $99 fans can receive 10 vouchers that can be redeemed in any quantity, bring one friend or nine, for any men's or women's game on any date. You pick the games, the dates and the number of tickets that work for you. The Penn State Basketball FLEX Pack - now our schedule fits yours!