Even the most die-hard, blue-and-white-bleeding, Penn State basketball fans had to wonder how their beloved Nittany Lions could narrowly lose to national power Florida State, unconvincingly defeat Division III Juniata and, quite simply, choke at McGonigle Hall against Temple during the last two weeks of December.

And when a third-place finish at Brigham Young's Cougar Classic over the Dec. 9-10 weekend and two losses in Wyoming's Cowboy Shootout (Dec. 29-30) are considered, the Lions' record -- 2-0 going into break -- became a disappointing 4-5.

Just when the most resilient fan was ready to trade his courtside seats for a recliner and TV remote control, the Lions found their collective shooting touch in time to average 92.5 points in two games, drubbing conference foes Massachusetts (Thursday at Rec Hall) and St. Joe's (Saturday at the Alumni Memorial Field House). The victories raised not only the squad's Atlantic 10 record (to 2-1), but team morale as well.

"It was a heck of a big win for us," Coach Bruce Parkhill said after the Lions downed St. Joe's, 78-67. "Anytime you win on the road it's a big win."

In this case any win, home, away, whatever, is a big one.

Thursday's victory over UMass ended a three-game slide during which the Lions lost to Temple, Southern Illinois and Gonzaga by a combined 14 points while shooting an average of 37.5 percent from the field.

"Every game is different," senior Tom Hovasse said. "With Temple, it was bad execution; with Southern Illinois, we still didn't execute as well as we should have but we did a little better. They hit some tough shots. They hit the shots they needed to hit to win."

So did Florida State.

On Dec. 17, the Lions had the opportunity to pull one of the greater upsets in Penn State basketball history when the then-undefeated Seminoles came to Rec Hall. Down by as many as nine points in the first half, the Lions battled back to tie the game twice in the second half, only to fall 78-71. Center Ed Fogell led Penn State with 20 points, while the Lions shot a respectable 52 percent from the field.

Where was Tom Hovasse when Parkhill needed him?

In the training room, listening to the game on the radio. Hovasse suffered a painful thigh bruise the week before in Utah and was unable to play.

"It was really tough," Hovasse said. "I knew I wasn't going to play. Actually, the (physical) pain eased my pain on the inside from not being able to play."

Then came Juniata, a team which the Lions defeated by 50 points in last year's season opener. Fogell scored 22 as the Lions shot 53 percent from the field, but just 27 percent from 3-point distance, in a 76-61 win.

At Temple, a game nationally-televised on ESPN, the Lions rallied from an 11-point deficit with 15:09 to play, taking a 38-36 lead on two Freddie Barnes free throws with 8:11 left. The Lions eventually led by four, 44-40 with 3:56 to play, on two Bruce Blake foul shots.

With seven seconds remaining and Temple leading 49-47, Penn State inbounded the ball to Hovasse, who was all alone on the baseline. Wearing a football thigh pad, Hovasse, the Lions' leader with 23 points, hoisted a 3-pointer, only to miss. Blake was fouled on the rebound, and made one of two free throws. The seniors lost to Temple for the seventh consecutive time; their last two losses to the Owls have been by a combined three points.

"It was really nice to get to get my 1,000th point (at Temple) and all," Hovasse said, "but it would have been a thousand times better if I'd hit that last shot."

Perhaps the strangest game of all came Dec. 29 in Wyoming against Southern Illinois, a team that rocked Villanova by 20 points earlier this season.

Facing a three-point deficit with less than 10 seconds to play, the Salukis' Freddie McSwain jacked a 21-footer to send the game into overtime. Buoyed by McSwain, who scored a game-high 31 points, SIU went on to win not only the game, 80-76, but also the tournament.

The Cowboy Shootout was the second tournament (the first being the Cougar Classic) in which the Lions lost in the first round to the eventual champion.

By that time, the Lions themselves may have had doubts. A three-game skid and a 0-1 conference record are not the most pleasant of Seasons Greetings.

"The teams we lost to were really good," Hovasse said. "We came back and had some really hard practices; the coaches woke us up. We started playing with a little more enthusiasm."

In other words, bring on UMass.

The Minutemen brought lots of inner turmoil -- two senior players were arrested last week on burglary charges -- and lots more youth to Rec Hall. The Lions were enthusiastic for the entire 40 minutes, to the tune of a 107-79 victory with the Lions hitting 60 percent of their shots and Hovasse's 22 leading seven Lions in double figures.

Then on Saturday, the Lions started a new streak, beating St. Joe's for their second consecutive win. Hovasse played like, well, Tom Hovasse, scoring 22 of the Lions' first 33 points en route to 28 for the game and a 78-67 Penn State victory.

Hawks Coach Jim Boyle said after the game that he wouldn't be surprised to see the 6-8 Hovasse in the NBA next season. After all, Boyle had just watched Hovasse bury 10 of 13 field goals, 5 of 6 from 3-point land, and add 11 rebounds and three blocks for good measure.

"He played a phenomenal first half and really kept us in the hunt," Parkhill said after the game.

In the hunt for -- yikes! -- did someone say A-10 title?

"That's what we're shooting for," Hovasse said. "We were really down for awhile, but now we're on the upswing again. We realize it's a long season."

With a healthy Hovasse and the Lions reclaiming their shooting touch from the lost-and-found, maybe, just maybe, Penn State opponents are the ones in for the long season.