Dec. 16, 2011
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UNIVERSITY PARK, PA., Dec. 16, 2011 - Penn State (6-5) will look to snap a three-game losing skid Sunday when the Nittany Lions take on Mount St. Mary's (1-8) in a 4 p.m. tip at the Bryce Jordan Center. The game can be seen live on the Big Ten Network or heard across Pennsylvania on the Penn State Sports Network.
Sunday's match-up is part of a double-header Sunday with the Lady Lions facing Wagner in a 1 p.m. tip. Fans can purchase a $5 general admission ticket and see both games. Kids will have a chance to take a picture with Santa on the concourse.
Penn State will return to the floor after a week off for final exams. Sophomore Jermaine Marshall continues his emergence for the Nittany Lions as he posted his fourth-straight double-figure scoring game last Saturday in a Lion loss at Duquesne. Marshall is averaging a team-best 16 points and 7.5 rebounds per game in the Lions' last four games, including a pair of 20-point outings.
Penn State and Mount St. Mary's played a close game last December in the Jordan Center with the Nittany Lions emerging victorious, 57-53, after Talor Battle sank a 28-foot three-pointer with just seconds remaining in the game. Penn State is 6-0 all-time vs. The Mount.
Penn State will return to the Jordan Center on Wednesday, Dec. 21 for their final non-conference game of the season as they take on Cornell in a 7:30 p.m. tip.
PENN STATE (6-5; 0-0 Big Ten) vs. Mount St. Mary's (1-8; 0-0 NEC)
SUNDAY, DEC. 18, 2011 @ 4:00 P.M. (ET)
BRYCE JORDAN CENTER (15,261) • UNIVERSITY PARK, PA.
Lions return from week off, look to snap three-game skid
GAME INFO
TELEVISION: Big Ten Network; Tom Hart & Greg Kelser
RADIO: Penn State Sports Network; Local: 1450 AM; Sirius: CH 117; XM; CH 191 Steve Jones (p-by-p) & Dick Jerardi (analyst)
LIVE STATS & AUDIO:
COACHES:
PENN STATE: Patrick Chambers - 6-5 (1st at PSU); 48-33 (3rd Overall)
MT. ST. MARY'S: Robert Burke - 12-29 (2nd at MSM); same overall
RPI: Penn State: #157; MSM: #306
NEXT UP:
Penn State will finish up its non-con slate on Wednesday when it takes on Cornell at the BJC. It will be the first meeting since a 66-54 PSU victory at the BJC in 2005. PSU trails the series 4-5, having won just two of the last seven meetings. The Lions are 4-0 at home vs. the Big Red and are 36-47 all-time vs. Ivy League teams. Wednesday's game will be the last home game until a Jan. 5 meeting vs. Purdue.
THE GAME:
Penn State will return to the floor after a week off for final exams. The Lions will look to snap a three-game losing skid, equaling the team's longest in the last two seasons, vs. Mount St. Mary's, which lost a close game at Maryland on Dec. 7 but brings its own seven-game losing skid into the contest. Sunday's game will be a double-header with the Lady Lions who tip off at 1:00 p.m. vs. Wagner. Penn State is 6-0 all-time vs. The Mount, winning 57-53 last year in the Jordan Center, and 23-1 vs. NEC teams. This will be the fourth meeting since 2005 for the teams. The previous two were both decided by five points or less. Senior Cammeron Woodyard's father, Bruce, played at The Mount in the 1980's. Penn State will be looking for its seventh non-conference win to equal the number of non-con wins from last year's NCAA Tournament team that went 7-4 in the pre-Big Ten season.
LAST TIME VS. THE MOUNT:
Penn State found itself in a tie game with The Mount with under 30 seconds to play last year, when Talor Battle dribbled down the shot clock and buried a 28-foot three with 1.3 seconds left. Battle scored the Lions' last eight points and led the team with 13 despite a 3-of-14 shooting night in a low scoring affair, 57-53, that saw the Lions shoot 42 percent (4-12 from three) and Mount St. Mary's hit 39 percent (5-13 from three). The Mount scored 18 points off 15 Penn State turnovers to stay close. The Lions led 31-22 at the half, but shot just 38 percent in the second and committed nine turnovers. Cammeron Woodyard had eight points and Tim Frazier three among Penn State returners. MSM was led by 16 points from Lamar Trice. Julian Norfleet (6) and Danny Thompson (6) led MSM players that return for this year's contest.
SCOUTING THE MOUNT:
Mount St. Mary's brings a seven-game losing streak in to the weekend, having fallen 65-54 to Loyola at home on Dec. 10 in their last outing. Julian Norfleet led The Mount with 23 points in that game and leads the team posting 12.3 ppg, the only Mount player averaging double-figures. MSM gave Maryland a scare in College Park on Dec. 7 before falling 77-74 to the Terrapins. The Mount fell, 85-56, at Minnesota earlier this year and has faced two common Penn State opponents on the year, winning at Hartford, 63-50, and falling to Long Island, 85-76. The Mount also fell, 64-56, at Navy earlier this year, a team coached by former Nittany Lion head coach Ed DeChellis. The Mount is averaging 58.1 ppg while allowing opponents to score 71.8 ppg and shoot 45.6 percent from the floor. MSM is turning the ball over 17.3 times per game with opponents posting nearly nine steals per game against them.
LAST TIME OUT:
Duquesne 66, Penn State 59, Dec. 10 • Pittsburgh, Pa.
Penn State committed a season-high 23 turnovers and gave up a 32-29 halftime lead falling at Duquesne, 66-59. Penn State saw the Dukes shoot 52 percent in the second half and use a 16-3 run to go from down two, 39-37, at the 16-minute mark to an 11-point lead, 53-42, with 10:18 to play. Penn State would get no closer than five the rest of the way. The Dukes logged 11 steals and scored 22 points off turnovers. Penn State won the rebounding battle, 39-28, but hit just 4-of-16 from three. Tim Frazier posted 15 points and Jermaine Marshall 12 for the Lions. Eric Evans went 9-of-11 at the foul line and scored 15 second half points on his way to a game-high 20 for the Dukes. Penn State led for much of the first half in a game with 10 ties and nine lead changes.
YOUNG LIONS:
Penn State's six underclassmen playing at least 10 minutes per game ranks tied for the most among Big Ten teams. Illinois, Minnesota and Ohio State also play six underclassmen significant minutes. Through the first 11 games, three freshmen & three sophomores are averaging at least 14 minutes per game for Penn State and have made a total of 27 starts. True-freshmen Trey Lewis (5) and Ross Travis (5) have combined for 10 starts. The Lions have just three upperclassmen playing more than 10 minutes per game.
MARSHALL EMERGING; TEAM LEADING 16.0 PPG, 7.5 RPG OVER LAST FOUR:
Redshirt sophomore Jermaine Marshall has been a scoring spark early this season. • Averaging team highs of 16.0 ppg and 7.5 rpg over the last four games. • Posted four-straight double-figure scoring outings with two 20-point outings in that span. • Second on the team scoring 9.2 ppg on the year. • Six double-digit scoring outings on the year, three vs. Big Six conference opponents. • Led Penn State with 20 points and a career-high nine rebounds in a loss to Lafayette (12/7) at the BJC. Hit a career-best 9-of-11 at the foul line in the game. • Made first career start vs. Ole Miss (12/4). • Scored 15 first half points, including the Lions' last 10 of the half, on his way to a career-high 22 points and eight rebounds in Penn State's win at Boston College (11/30). Marshall hit 8-of-16 from the floor and a career-best 3-of-6 from three in the game. • Posted eight first half points on his way to 14 in Penn State's victory over USF (11/20). • Returned to practice on Nov. 10 after being suspended prior to the start of pre-season practice.
FRAZIER LEADS BIG TEN IN ASSISTS (7TH IN NCAA), 4TH IN SCORING:
Junior guard Tim Frazier ranks 1ST in the Big Ten is assists (7.2) 4TH in the Big Ten in scoring (17.4), 3RD in steals (2.3), 9TH in rebounding (5.6) and 1ST in minutes (35.3). • ONLY Big Ten player ranked in top 10 of scoring, rebounding and assists in the conference and one of two to break the top 15 of scoring and assists. • Ranks in the top 10 of SEVEN statistical categories in the Big Ten. • SEVENTH IN THE NCAA in assists. • Has posted FIVE 20-point outings, two career-high point totals and raised his scoring average by nearly 11 ppg from last year (6.3 to 17.4) • Has posted three double-doubles on the year. • Has FIVE games of 9+ assists on the year and posted a career high in either scoring, assists (three time reaching 10 or more) or rebounding (or both) in four games on the year. • Leads Penn State in points, rebounds, assists and steals. Frazier has 79 assists (the next closest Lion 15) and 25 steals (next closest Lion 11) on the year. • Named to Collegehoopsnet.com November All-Big Ten team. Joined by Drew Crawford (NU), John Shurna (NU), Jared Sullinger (OSU) and Robbie Hummel (PU).
FRAZIER SERVING ASSISTS AT RECORD PACE:
Approximately 1/3 of the way through a minimum of 32 Penn State games this season, Tim Frazier is on pace to obliterate the Lions' single-season assist record of 189 set by Talor Battle in 38 games in 2008-09. Frazier's Big Ten leading 7.2 apg is fully one assist per game higher than the PSU record season average of 6.1 set by Freddie Barnes (1992) and Tom Wilkinson (1978) and two ahead of his team leading 5.1 apg last year. At his current pace he would log at least 233 assists by season's end. Frazier has posted career-best assist totals in three games this year, posting at least 10 on each occasion, and has logged five games of 9+ assists. He had a career-best 11 assists vs YSU (11/23). Frazier's 173 assists last year rank as the fifth best season mark in PSU history. He ranks 12th on the PSU career assist chart, 25 shy of entering the Top 10.
Season tickets for Nittany Lion Basketball are $200 for adults, $170 for faculty/staff and seniors, $80 for youth (18 and under) and $59 for students. Lady Lion Basketball season tickets are $117 for adults, $91 for faculty/staff and seniors and $52 for youth. Penn State students will be admitted for free to Lady Lion basketball games beginning this season.
PNC Flex Books are also available again this year for $99. The Flex Book gives fans 12 vouchers, 10 that can be redeemed in any combination for Nittany Lion and Lady Lion Basketball tickets throughout the year and two extra vouchers for the Nittany Lions' Coaches Vs. Cancer game on Feb. 11 vs. Nebraska and the Lady Lions' Think Pink game on Feb. 26 vs. Minnesota.
For all the latest information, notes, pictures and related links on Penn State basketball follow Associate Athletic Communications Director Brian Siegrist on Twitter (@PSUSTRETCH) and check GoPSUsports.com. The Nittany Lions are also on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pennstatebasketball.
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