If Penn State's schedule could somehow be made into a movie, the title would have to be The Scheduling Gods Must Be Crazy.

Sandwiched between No. 15 Florida State and the Wyoming Cowboy Shootout, the men's basketball team began its conference schedule Dec. 26 against Temple in dreaded McGonigle Hall. Going into the game, the Owls were 102-9 in their home gym. Nice way to spend Christmas.

A year ago, spirits were broken and confidence shattered as the Lions dropped a gut-wrenching 50-49 decision in Philly. But three of Temple's starters were gone from that 32-2 team, while Penn State returned a starting lineup almost identical to that of 1987-88.

The chances of a Lion victory were increased when forward Tom Hovasse trotted onto the court at the end of pregame warmups. Hovasse, who had missed three previous games, returned still nursing a thigh injury. For protection, he wore a thigh pad most often seen on football players. He entered a game he shouldn't have played needing 13 points to reach 1,000 for his career.

"I wasn't even supposed to play," Hovasse said. "It was still iffy, but it was up to me and the trainer. I didn't know I'd be playing until about half an hour before the game."

After the game, Coach Bruce Parkhill had only praise for the senior, saying: "We left it up to him whether he'd play. I just hope this game doesn't cost him a whole lot down the road."

With Penn State trailing 34-23 five minutes into the second half, Hovasse took control. With only 10 points in the contest at the time, he hit a threepointer at 14:37 to start the team on a 21-6 run which put the team ahead, 44-40, with 3:56 left on the clock. Hovasse netted 13 of the 21 points, but it was the first three that counted the most.

Five minutes later, the public address announcer informed the crowd of Hovasse's accomplishment, and the Temple fans responded with thunderous, albeit brief, applause.

"It was nice (to hear opposing fans applaud)," Hovasse said. "They were really nice about it. I didn't expect (the ovation). It was a little tarnished, though, because we lost the game (50-48)."

One thousand points is a total Hovasse never reached as a high school student in Colorado because he played only two years on the varsity squad. He said 1,000 points is (no pun intended) "something every player shoots for."

Saturday, Hovasse scored 28 points against St. Joe's to move into fifth place on Penn State's all-time list with nearly 1,100 points. Although the all-time total of 2,138 is out of Hovasse's reach, only prolonged absences will prevent him from graduating as the No. 2 man in State history. He needs less than 100 points with at least 17 games remaining.

The career mark is held by Jesse Arnelle, who played from 1952-55. Arnelle led the Lions to their only Final Four appearance (1954) and their last NCAA tournament victory (1955).

Hovasse was named Atlantic 10 co-player of the week for Jan. 1-7. Leading the Lions to two conference wins over UMass and St. Joe's, Hovasse scored 50 points, hauled in 21 rebounds, blocked three shots and handed out two assists.

Hovasse shot 67 percent from the field and 75 percent from 3-point distance. He also hit 5 of 6 foul shots.

Another milestone that will be reached this year is the 1,000th win in Penn State history. Saturday's victory was No. 996, and the millennium mark should be reached the week of Jan. 22.