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PSU gets first Big Ten win:

“BY WADE MALCOLM

“For The Patriot-News

“STATE COLLEGE – When his perfectly arced shot ripped cleanly through nylon to give Penn State a five-point lead with 13 seconds remaining, Mike Walker pointed to the sky.

” ‘To God,’ he later said, grinning boyishly. ‘For letting me hit that shot.’

“The shot — a crossover, pull-up, shot clock-beating three — seemed to guarantee Penn State’s first Big Ten victory of the season.

“And the celebration by Walker, a Penn State freshman and Trinity grad, didn’t appear premature.

“But it was.

“True, the Nittany Lions held on to defeat Northwestern 65-62 yesterday at the Bryce Jordan Center, but PSU almost managed to give away another game. Its mistakes gave the Wildcats (8-9, 1-4 Big Ten) a fighting chance at the end, despite their five-point deficit following Walker’s clutch bomb. …”

Lions snap Big Ten losing streak — and Northwestern’s the victim:

“It was just another Penn State-Northwestern game.

“Staying with tradition, the Nittany Lions (7-11, 1-4 Big Ten) slipped by the Wildcats, 65-62, in front of a national television audience on Saturday.

“The victory gave Penn State its first Big Ten victory in almost a year, which also came against Northwestern (8-9, 1-4) at home in overtime, 63-61. …”

ChicagoSports.com – Cats leave fundamentals at home:

“STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Maybe it was just in too much of a hurry to beat the weekend’s weather out of town, but Northwestern forgot to pack some essentials for its visit to Penn State.

“Essentials like rebounds and hustle. …”

Centre Daily Times | 01/23/2005 | Nittany Lions hold on against Wildcats:

“UNIVERSITY PARK — This is the game you play with freshmen — as much time is spent wringing your hands in frustration as it is spent thrusting them in the air with joy.

“Penn State men’s basketball coach Ed DeChellis found himself doing plenty of both Saturday as freshman guards Mike Walker and Danny Morrissey led the Nittany Lions to a breathless 65-62 defeat of Northwestern at the Bryce Jordan Center.

” ‘We made it so hard on ourselves,’ Walker said, ‘but we made the plays when we had to and we won.’

“Morrissey tied a career-high with 16 points and Walker had all 15 of his in the second half as Penn State (7-11, 1-4 Big Ten) won for the first time in more than three weeks and tallied its first conference win since defeating the Wildcats last Jan. 28. …”

Centre Daily Times | 01/23/2005 | Nittany Lions starting to recruit JUCO players:

“Dozens of players have been through the beleaguered Penn State men’s basketball program in the past two decades. Players tall and small, hailing from Harrisburg to Germany to Idaho, of various abilities and attitudes. One commonality linked them all: None were junior college players.

“For one reason or another, the Nittany Lions never went the JUCO route — at least not far enough to land one. Perhaps it was because of the negative stereotypes that accompany such players, or because Penn State, like the other schools in the Big Ten, requires 52 transferable credit hours for all incoming juniors, while many junior college graduates have only 48.

“Midway through his second season at Penn State, coach Ed DeChellis is starting one junior college player — forward Travis Parker — and is looking at a number of others for next season. A door that had been strangely closed for so many years has been opened, and early returns have been promising.

“‘The stereotype was that we can’t get ‘those kids,” DeChellis said. ‘I never understood who ‘those kids’ were. What we have to do is work hard to find a kid that fits. Not everybody fits.’ …”

FightOnState.com: Lions Hold off Late Flurry:

“In the middle of a six-game shooting slump that saw him make 4 of 19 3-pointers, Penn State freshman guard Mike Walker did what he always does when things aren’t going well: Work. …”

Game Notes:

“- Penn State established a season high with 14 3-point baskets. For the first time this season, four Penn State players netted at least two 3-point baskets each. Mike Walker established a career high with five 3-point baskets and Danny Morrissey equaled his career high with 4.

“- More than half of Penn State’s points (42 of 65) were

generated by 3-point baskets.

“- Penn State’s all-time record against Northwestern in games played at University Park is 10-2. The Nittany Lions have won 4 of their last 5 home games against the Wildcats.

“- With 15 points, all in the second half, Mike Walker logged his fifth double-figure scoring effort of the season. …”

Press Release – 2:

“Mike Walker

“How good does this win feel today?

“‘This is a real satisfying win. It felt like it had been years from our last win and our hard work is paying off. This is a good feeling now.’

“Talk about the last two minutes of the game.

” ‘ We made it very hard on ourselves. We could have put the game away when we were up by eight or nine but we made the plays to win the game in the end.’ …”

Press Release – 2:

“On the importance of the three-point shooting of Danny Morrissey and Mike Walker:

” ‘It was very important. The freshmen have to score. I think they did a great job, we hit big threes. Their scoring is very critical for success.’

“On the importance of tonight’s win:

” ‘Obviously it was very, very important. We made one million mistakes. It was gut- wrenching. It’s important especially for our young kids to have success. They haven’t enjoyed things in a long time so this is special for them. I’m very happy for them.’

“On tonight’s fan turnout:

” ‘I want to thank the fans and everybody for coming out today especially with the bad weather. We had great numbers and it gave us great atmosphere.'”

State College, Pa. – January 22, 2005 – The Penn State Nittany Lion basketball team rode a strong team performance and the shooting prowess of three freshmen to a 65-62 home win over Northwestern in Big Ten basketball action. Lion rookies Geary Claxton (West Haven, Conn.), Danny Morrissey (Pepper Pike, Ohio) and Mike Walker (Lewisberry, Pa.) combined for 44 of Penn State’s 65 points; and junior Aaron Johnson (Exton, Pa.) out-rebounded the entire Wildcat team.

Walker would hit the game’s decisive shot, a three-pointer with :13 left in the game as the shot clock wound down, giving Penn State a 63-58 cushion. Walker’s shot, and two Travis Parker (Greenville, N.C.) free throws with :02 to play, helped Penn State stave off a furious Northwestern comeback attempt.

Penn State led by nine, 60-51, with 2:29 to play. Northwestern would score the game’s next seven points to cut the Lion lead to two, 60-58, before Walker’s decisive trey. Walker ended the game with 15 points, hitting five of nine three-pointers. Morrissey led Penn State with 16 points (11 in the first half) and was six of eight from the field (and four of six from long-range).

While Walker was hot in the second half and Morrissey in the first, Claxton was was steady throughout the game, posting a solid 13-point, eight rebound, three assists and one steal line. Parker, also in his first year at Penn State, had 13 points as well to go along with five boards.

While Penn State’s new faces did the scoring, it was Johnson who carried the load on the glass. The Big Ten’s leading rebounder, Johnson had 21 boards. His total was four more than Northwestern had as a team (17). Johnson was the focus of Northwestern’s defense in the paint and he scored only eight points (snapping a streak of 20 straight games in double-figures). But the junior took advantage of double and triple-teams to lead Penn State with four assists. Johnson’s 21 rebounds is a Penn State Big Ten record, snapping the mark of 18 set by Jarrett Stephens in 2000. It is also a Bryce Jordan Center single-game record. Johnson also becomes the first Nittany Lion to have three games with 20 or more rebounds in the same season since Jesse Arnelle turned the trick in 1955.

The game was close from the start, with freshman Morrissey braking out of a shooting slump in the first half, nailing three of four three-pointers for 11 points to pace the Nittany Lions. Claxton also had 11 points to go along with four boards while Johnson had 10 boards but no points.

Northwestern jumped out to an early six point lead and held that advantage (19-13) with 9:06 to play in the first stanza. Morrissey would knock down a jump shot and a three-pointer to pull Penn State to within one, 19-18, before Northwestern’s Vince Scott would knock down a trey, putting NU up 22-18 with 4:19 to play.

Morrissey would answer with another three-pointer, setting up Claxton’s go-ahead three-pointer with 2:03 to play, a shot that gave the Lions a 24-22 lead. Scott would hit another three seconds later and Morrissey would answer with :07 to play, giving Penn State a 27-25 lead. Mohamed Hachad would hit a trey at the buzzer to reclaim the lead for NU, giving the Wildcats a 28-27 lead at intermission.

For the game, the Nittany Lions shot .460 from the field (23-50) and a season-best .538 (14-26) from beyond the arc. The Lions out-rebounded NU 42-17. Northwestern shot .472 from the field (25-53) and .440 from long range (11-25).

Penn State is now 7-11 overall, 1-4 in Big Ten play, while Northwestern falls to 8-9, 1-4. The Nittany Lions will visit Ohio State on Wednesday night in an 8 p.m. game. Penn State’s next home game is next Saturday when the Lions welcome Wisconsin to the BJC for an 8 p.m. tilt.