Dec. 10, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA., Dec. 10, 2008 - Penn State found offense hard to come by for the first 32 minutes of action Wednesday night vs. Army, but the Nittany Lions played solid defense and closed with a bang posting a 17-4 run to break open a close game and down the Black Knights, 60-45. Penn State improved to 8-2 on the year as they prepare for four more home games to close out 2008. Army fell to 2-7.
Sophomore Talor Battle (Albany, N.Y.) scored eight of Penn State's final 17 points to spark the Lion victory. He finished with 14 points and six assists for his 14th straight double-figure outing. Jamelle Cornley (Columbus, Ohio) led all scorers with 15 points and also had a game-high eight boards. He moved into 15th all-time on the Penn State scoring charts with 1,193 points passing Ron Brown (1972-74).
Four Nittany Lions scored in double-figures as both Danny Morrissey (Cleveland, Ohio) and Andrew Jones (Philadelphia, Pa.) posted season highs. Morrissey had 14 points in 36 minutes. Jones posted 13 points and seven boards in 30 minutes.
Army was led by 10 points from Josh Miller who was the only Knight in double-figures. Penn State held Army to 38 percent shooting and just 2-of-14 from three. The Nittany Lions struggled shooting 30 percent in the first half on their way to a season low 23 first half points, but heated up in the second hitting 55 percent and outscoring the Knights 37-23 in the final 20 minutes.
"They're a very good defensive team," Penn State coach Ed DeChellis said. "We knew that coming in. They're physical. They don't want you to score much inside. They double and triple the post. They make you take perimeter jump shots. That's their thing. I thought we were good defensively. We only gave up 45 points and they shot 38 percent. That's as low as they shot all year and we defended them very well, and I'm really happy about that. I thought our guys settled in and played tough defensively, we just couldn't get the good shots up."
In a difficult first half for both teams, Penn State struggled to find points. The Nittany Lions shot 8-for-26 in the first stanza, including 2-for-12 from three-point range, and could only open up a five-point margin despite Army shooting just 34 percent in the half.
A pair of Battle free throws put the Lions up five, 23-18, with 1:39 to play in the half, but Army closed scoring four-straight and had a chance to lead at half, but Marcus Nelson missed a pair of free throws in the final two seconds to preserve a 23-22 Nittany Lion edge at the half.
"We've played better offensively in practice than we do in the game and that's frustrating," DeChellis said. "The last seven or eight minutes I thought we played the way we've been practicing, penetrating and kicking and getting open shots."
Morrissey knocked down a three-pointer to give the Lions a 26-22 lead to open the second half, but Army would not let Penn State get out of their sight. Penn State pushed its lead to six three times in the first seven minutes of the half, but Army used a five-point run to close to within one, 38-37, on a Kenny Brewer lay-up with 12:19 to play.
The game remained tight with the Lions leading by four, 45-41, at the 7:39 media timeout. From there, Penn State ran away.
Battle re-entered the game after a short break, came off a screen and knocked down a three to give the Lions a 48-41 lead. After a made jumper by Army, Battle continued to be the spark.
He grabbed a defensive rebound and took it coast-to-coast for the lay-up and a 50-43 Nittany Lion lead. Morrissey dropped a two-point jumper to push the lead to nine. Battle rebounded another Army miss and took it for a lay-up on the other end, getting fouled in the process. He made the free throw and Penn State led 55-43 with 3:11 to play and finally had some breathing room.
Penn State scored its final five points in highlight reel fashion. Cornley took a pass from Battle on the baseline, faked the jump shot, took it to the basket and dunked it. On the Nittany Lions' very next possession Jones tapped in a lay-up and was fouled. He made the free throw, giving the Lions their largest lead of the game at 60-43 with just over a minute remaining.
Penn State will return to the Jordan Center Saturday when they take Mount St. Mary's in a 1:30 p.m. tip.