Nov. 6, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; Nov. 6, 2009 - Seven months after claiming the program's first-ever national tournament title in Madison Square Garden, the Nittany Lion basketball team will return to the hard wood with a new look and some exciting young faces as they take on Slippery Rock in exhibition action at 6:00 p.m. Friday in the Bryce Jordan Center. Fans can view the game and the following Rally in the Valley pep rally live on the BigTenNetwork.com. A live radio broadcast will also be available on comradio.psu.edu/.
Admission to Friday's game is $5 for the general public with students and season ticket holders admitted for free. All seating is general admission. The football pep rally for Saturday's Ohio State clash will begin immediately after the Nittany Lion basketball game at approximately 8 p.m. All fans who plan to attend the pep rally are encouraged to attend the basketball game.
Talor Battle, who was named to the Naismith Award Watch List this week to go with preseason All-Big Ten honors and his placement on the Wooden Award Watch List, will lead a new Nittany Lion team that will feature eight newcomers. Battle ranked third in the Big Ten scoring 16.7 ppg last season and was one of just seven players nationally to average better than 15 points, five rebounds and 4.5 assists.
Penn State fans will have their first chance to see four prominent newcomers to the program on Friday as freshmen Tim Frazier (Houston, Texas), Bill Edwards (Middletown, Ohio), Sasa Borovnjak (Belgrade, Serbia) and Jermaine Marshall (Etters, Pa.) take the floor. Frazier, the top rated senior recruit out of Texas, has already become a staple on Youtube.com in several dunk reels and won the slam dunk contest at Nittany Lion Hoop Fest earlier in the fall.
Slippery Rock posted a 21-8 record last year and went 11-3 to finish second in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference- Western Division. The Rock lost a close exhibition contest at Pittsburgh on Sunday, falling 75-64 while hitting 15 of 46 three-point attempts. Senior guard Jabril Bailey, a transfer from NCAA Division I Campbell University, went 6-of-15 for 18 points and a 4-of-9 showing by senior guard Maurice Douglas netted 14 points and six assists.
The Nittany Lions basketball team opens its regular season the following Friday, Nov. 13 vs. Penn in the Jordan Center.
Penn State season basketball tickets, PNC Bank Flex Book plans (10 tickets to use at any game for $99) or single game tickets can be purchased by visiting GoPSUsports.com, Ticketmaster or calling 814-865-5555. Single-game tickets for Nittany Lion games are $18 for lower bowl seating, $15 for upper bowl seating and $7/$5 for youth. Penn State also offers special group ticket rates (15 fans or more) of $10 for adults.
-NITTANY LIONS-