Lions blow out Lock Haven, battle Hoyas next:
“The final 2.2 seconds in which Penn State fell to Georgetown, 79-78, last year was a completely demoralizing loss for the Nittany Lions, one from which the team never appeared to fully recover in a 9-19 season.
“After a 94-46 win against Lock Haven (0-4) on Friday night, which followed an 83-80 upset over Rutgers Wednesday night, Penn State forward Aaron Johnson said the Lions (5-2) possess the confidence they need to prevent a repeat of last year’s season opener. Johnson was sidelined for last year’s game with a detached retina, but is ready to take revenge on the Hoyas tonight at the MCI Center.
” ‘Now that they have to deal with me, I am very happy with it,’ Johnson said. ‘That loss really hurt us because it was an emotional loss. You’d rather lose by 10 than one any day. We lost by one at the buzzer. It was demoralizing and it kind of hurt our whole team. This year our first losses taught us a lot and if we keep rolling, and stay together, we’ll do well.’
“Playing Div. II Lock Haven not only replaced the anonymous team that backed out on the Lions, but provided a little breathing room between two Big East contests.
” ‘We really needed this situation with the break,’ Penn State coach Ed DeChellis said. ‘We did not want those games to be back-to-back. This game came at a good time.’ “