Think small and win big in the end.

That's the new-and-improved philosophy of the Penn State men's basketball team, and it seems to be working.

When the basketball season began, Head Coach Bruce Parkhill and his troops set lofty goals; a 20-win season, a high finish in the Atlantic 10 Conference and a berth in post-season play, all long term goals.

But, instead of starting the year with a series of successes, the Lions struggled early and the high hopes diminished with every loss. Penn State was crushed by Oklahoma in front of almost 8,000 fans in Rec Hall, lost at Florida State, Lehigh and Massachusetts, and played poorly on offense against Temple and at St.Bonaventure. After the loss against the Bonnies, it was time for changes.

"We came together as a team at Duquesne," red-shirt sophomore forward Ed Fogell said. "We got together in a hotel room (after the loss to St.Bonaventure) and discussed everyone's roles and just had an open meeting. When we were done, we left with a purpose."

"At the beginning of the year, we set some goals, high goals, that we felt we could meet," junior swingman Tom Hovasse said. "At the time we reevaluated, we were 6-9 (after the loss at St. Bonaventure) and we lost sight of those goals we set at the beginning of the year. So we broke down the season to the last 11 games, put the first 15 games behind us and decided to go out and play hard each time out."

Penn State is 3-0 in the new 11-game season, posting wins at Duquesne and St.Joesph's and at home Saturday night in a rematch with St.Bonaventure. The wins were by a combined total of seven points.

Coaching wasn't the key to the three victories. Nor were the players or a weak stretch in the schedule. It all comes down to confidence and understanding what it takes to win.

"The kids were starting to doubt whether they could win," Parkhill said. "But they decided to take one game at a time and go out with a more determined and positive attitude about themselves and it shows in their play.

"They have a chart in the lockerroom, a thermometer type thing, that keeps the guys in the right perspective," he continued. "Tony (Ward) has played three straight excellent floor games and Tommy (Hovasse) is shooting the ball well and the other guys are adding more to us. That's what we need to be successful."

Overall, the Lions are 9-9, 5-5 in the Atlantic 10 Conference. With five of its remaining eight games at home, Penn State is in good position to finish the season strong. But with success, there is the danger of looking to the future and losing sight of what needs to be done in the present. The Lions learned their lesson once this season and are determined not to let it happen again.

Next goal: West Virginia Thursday night in Rec Hall.