The Rec Hall magic continued over the Christmas break but Florida was no holiday for the men's basketball team.

The Lions ran their Rec Hall win streak to 23 consecutive games with three victories over the break. Overall the Lions finished 5-3, leaving their game at Rec Hall when away. Penn State is 1-4 on the road this season.

One of those loses was a 60-56 setback to South Florida in the championship of the Tampa Tribune Holiday Invitational. With the second place finish, the Lions have not one an in-season tournament since the AMI Classic in Miami in 1986.

Here is a recap of what happened over break:

Dec. 18 -- Temple in Philadelphia

Penn State blew several key opportunities in the second half in dropping its first Atlantic 10 conference game 67-64 to Temple in a nationally televised game at McGonigle Hall.

Penn State dropped to 5-2, 0-1 in the A-10 while the Owls upped their record to 4-2 and 2-0.

Despite shooting just 40.7 percent from the field and 40 percent free-throw line, Penn State trailed only 33-26 at halftime. The Lions evened the game 39-39 at the 13:48 mark of the second half on a layup by backup center C.J. Johnson but key turnovers down the stretch -- including 11 from shooting guard Monroe Brown alone -- cost them the game.

Penn State forward DeRon Hayes led all scorers with 20 points. Point guard Freddie Barnes and forward James Barnes added 11 and 10 points respectively.

For the Owls guard Mark Macon led the way with 18. Center Donald Hodge added 15.

Dec. 28 -- Brown in Tampa, Fla.

Penn State open up an early 12-point lead and held off stubborn Brown posting a 79-60 win in the first round of the Tampa Tribune Holiday Invitational at the University of South Florida Sun Dome.

Behind 11 first-half points from guard Rick Lloyd, the Bears kept the game close and trailed just 37-34 at the half. Lloyd finished with 17 on the night.

But the Lions -- led by the front court of James Barnes (18 points), Dave Degitz (17) and Hayes (14) -- pulled away in the second half. Penn State moved to 6-2 on the year, while Brown dropped to 3-4.

Dec. 29 -- South Florida in Tampa

South Florida overcame a 11-point second half deficit to beat Penn State 60-56 in the championship game of the Tampa Tribune Holiday Invitational.

A Hayes jump shot put the Lions up 46-35 with 15:16 left in the game. But Bulls' center Gary Alexander scored 12 of his game-high 19 points down the stretch.

Alexander's dunk with 19 seconds left gave South Florida its first lead of the second half. Guard Marvin Taylor sank two free throws to ice the game for South Florida. Taylor had 14 points on the night.

Hayes led the way for the Lions with 14 points, while Brown had 10.

South Florida upped its record to 8-1 on the season. Penn State dropped to 6-3.

Jan. 3 -- Massachusetts

James Barnes hit two free throws with :04 left to lift Penn State to a 65-64 win over Massachusetts. The win -- the Lions 21st consecutive in Rec Hall -- moved their record to 7-3 overall and 1-1 in the A-10 conference.

Barnes was fouled by Minutemen forward John Tate on a turnaround baseline jumper. UMass coach John Calipari called two consecutive timeouts to ice Barnes. But Barnes, who led the Lions with 19 points, calmly sank both attempts to pull the game out for the Lions.

Massachusetts had built an early nine-point lead in the second half but could not hold on. Guard Jim McCoy led all scorers with 20 points. Forward Tony Barbee added 16 for the losers.

Jan. 5 -- Rhode Island in Kingston, R.I.

Rhode Island handed lackluster Penn State its worst loss of the season, 75-65, behind the 26-point performance of guard Eric Leslie.

The Lions had lost three games on the season to Baylor, Temple and South Florida by a total of 10 points prior to the 10-point loss to the Rams. Penn State dropped the Lions to 7-4 and 1-2 in the conference, while the Rhode Island upped their record to 6-3 and 2-0.

The Lions shot just 40 percent from the field. They trailed 38-26 at the half and had several chances to close to within 4 points in the second half but failed to do so.

Johnson led the Lions with 13 points. Degitz had 11, while Brown and James Barnes had 10 points apiece. Forwards Jeff Kent and Andre Samuel added 16 and 11 points respectively for the Rams.

Jan. 8 -- St. Bonaventure in Olean, N.Y.

The Lions jumped on shorthanded St. Bonaventure in the first half and posted their first road win of the season with a 89-54 pasting at the Reilly Center.

The Bonnies -- without starting guard Michael Burnett and center Dan Putney because of injuries -- had just five field goals and trailed 40-14 at the intermission.

"I thought we had some good shots in the beginning, but they just didn't fall," St. Bonaventure coach Tom Chapman said. "It just kind of steamrolled from there."

Johnson led the way for the Lions with 14 points, Degitz added 12 and Brown had 11. Bonnies guard Jason Brower led all scorers with 19. Center Tobias Hauff chipped in 14 for the losers.

Parkhill was able to empty his bench in the second half as the Lions raised their record to 8-4 overall and 2-2 in the conference. St. Bonaventure dropped to 3-9 and 0-5.

Jan. 10 -- West Virginia

Penn State came from 11 points down in the second half to beat West Virginia 90-88 and extend its Rec Hall winning streak to 22 straight games. With the win the Lions upped their record to 9-4 overall and 3-2 in the A-10, while the Mountaineers dropped to 6-4, 2-1.

Freddie Barnes hit a 3-point field goal with 2:33 left to pull the game even 82-82. The Lions hit 6-of-8 free throws down the stretch to put the game away.

Freddie Barnes led all scorers with 21 but once again Johnson was the key. He had 17 points, including 9-of-10 from the free-throw line.

It was the fourth straight game Johnson scored in double figures.

"When I come off the bench people aren't expecting me to score," Johnson said. "I think this is the most success I've had as a player."

Parkhill and guard Monroe Brown weren't pleased with the effort of the referees. Both were whistled for technical fouls.

West Virginia was led by forward Pervires Greene who had 17 points. Guard Chris Leonard and forward Charles Becton had 15 each. Mountaineers coach Gale Catlett refused to talk to the media after the game.