For 34 minutes, the Hawks looked like predators, stalking mistake-prone Penn State en route to a 70-59 lead. For the final six, however, they looked like helpless prey, as the Lions suffocated their offense, ending the game with a 21-8 run. With only 2,805 fans to see it, Penn State registered all-time win No. 1,000, defeating St. Joseph's, 80-78, last night at Rec Hall.

Although the NCAA does not keep records regarding all-time victories, it estimates that Penn State (10-7, 6-3) is only the 70th Division I team to reach the 1,000-win plateau. Coupled with a milestone loss on Tuesday, the Lions' all-time record stands at a tidy 1,000-700.

"It's rather insignificant to me," Coach Bruce Parkhill said. "I don't know about the players."

"I didn't even know about it until I saw it in the paper," forward Bruce Blake said. So much for sentiment.

For the first time this season, Penn State came back from the brink of elimination to gain a victory. Parkhill was hoping his team would bounce back from Tuesday's last-second loss at St. Bonaventure. It almost didn't happen.

Defensive breakdowns and 10 turnovers largely contributed to a four-point St. Joe's lead at the half. The Hawks (4-13, 1-7) took Penn State star Tom Hovasse out of the Lions' offense, keeping him off the scoreboard for the last 16:46 of the half.

Following a Hovasse free throw, the Hawks went on an 8-0 run to take a seven-point lead with 14:31 left in the half. The Lions were led by bench players Allen, James Barnes and Dave Degitz. They combined for 14 points and six rebounds during the first 20 minutes, and their play is the reason the Lions were as close as they were going into intermission.

"Degitz and Barnes really gave us nice games," Parkhill said. "They really gave us a lift in the front line in the first half."

Allen scored eight straight points for Penn State but Henry Smith and James Owens kept the Hawks flying. Smith had six points at the half, and Owens had eight.

Smith and Owens were virtually non-existent in the second half, though, as Brian Leahy and Mike Shaak put on a clinic. Shaak exploded for 16 second-half points while Leahy added eight. For the night, the two hit a combined 8-for-15 from 3-point land.

A 9-4 spurt gave the Lions a 53-52 lead with 13:19 left, but Shaak and Leahy each made two 3-pointers on an 18-6 St. Joe's run. With only 5:55 left to play, the Lions trailed by 11, but kept taking it to the Hawks.

At 5:46, Hovasse scored his first basket in 31 minutes to start cutting away at the deficit. Shaak and Leahy had cooled off for the visitors, and the Hawks began to commit what a tennis player would call unforced errors.

Off-guard Monnie Brown canned a trey with 2:53 to go, giving the Lions a lead for the first time in the half. Freddie Barnes then intercepted an errant pass and fed Blake for a thunderous jam that revived the partisan crowd. St. Joe's never got within two points after that.

Of the long-awaited come-from-behind win, Allen said, "It's part of developing a winning attitude. This can only help."