Ed Fogell's attempt from midcourt with a second remaining yesterday at Rutgers clanked off the front of the rim and the men's basketball team lost, 61-59.

The finish evoked memories of last year's Atlantic 10 championship game with Rutgers in which Tom Hovasse's 3-point shot bounced off the back of the rim, ending Penn State's dream of making it to the NCAAs.

Fogell, who scored his 1000th career point in the game, got the chance to win it after RU's Rick Dadika threw a touchdown pass from under the Lions' basket with two seconds left. Fogell intercepted the pass, took a step, dribbled and tossed up the ill-fated attempt.

That was all with two seconds left, but the wildness started with 13 seconds remaining.

Freddie Barnes hit a jump shot and a timeout was called. After the timeout, Fogell fouled Earl Duncan and Rutgers was awarded the ball underneath Penn State's basket.

The Lions got a big break on the next play as the Scarlet Knights (8-9, 4-3) committed a baseline violation when attempting to in-bound the ball and Penn State got the ball back.

Penn State (10-5, 4-3 in the Atlantic 10) did not take advantage of the mistake though. After in-bounding the ball, Barnes quickly put up a shot and it hit nothing but air. Scarlet Knights forward Keith Hughes pulled it down and called a timeout with two seconds left.

"On the situation where we got Freddie the ball, we wanted Freddie to shoot it if he was open," Coach Bruce Parkhill said. "If he wasn't open he could take the ball and drive it.

"He should have looked at his man because the guy was up on him tight to prevent the jump shot," he continued. "And he should have driven the ball."

It did not look like it was going to be a low scoring game in the early going as both teams started off on a torrid pace running the fast break. They traded baskets until the Lions, trailing 11-8, went on a 12-2 run for a 20-13 lead.

After that, neither team could score for over three minutes until RU forward Lee Perry broke the drought with a field goal. The Lions later went up 30-23 on a 3-pointer by Barnes. Both James Barnes and Fogell got into foul trouble, though, and the Knights went on a 11- 3 run to lead at halftime, 34-33.

"The loss of (James Barnes and Fogell) was obviously a big loss," Parkhill said. "Not to say that C.J. (Johnson) or Dave (Degitz) didn't do a good job, but it does have an affect on us."

The second half started with another run, this time by the Lions. They overtook the Knights with a 6-1 spurt, but Rutgers again fought back to tie the game at 45.

Donnell Lumpkin, playing for the academically ineligible Tom Savage, then hit a 3-pointer to give RU the lead for good.

That's not to say that the Lions did not have their chances. With 4:47 remaining, Fogell netted one that brought Penn State within four at 57-53. But until Freddie Barnes' basket with 2:34 left, both teams had traded turnovers.

Hughes scored to extend the Rutgers' to four, but James Barnes responded with two free throws to set the score at 59-57 in favor of the Knights. RU freshman guard Mike Jones then rose to the occasion and netted a jump shot, setting the stage for all of the action at the end.

Parkhill said he was surprised with the low scoring game. Penn State shot 49 percent from the field and the Knights shot 45 percent.

"I was hoping for a more up-tempo game," he said. "We wanted to push the ball, and we got some big opportunities when we did, but we didn't push it as well as we could have.

"But the guys played hard and played hard enough to give themselves a chance to win the game down the stretch. That's all I care about."