In recent years, home victories for the men's basketball team are almost as common as rain in State College.

The Lions (10-4, 4-2) boast the nation's third-longest home winning streak, now at 23 after last Saturday's 75-60 victory over Duquesne. Arizona currently holds a remarkable 56-game mark followed by UNLV, which has triumphed in 25 contests at the "Shark Tank."

At 7:30 tonight in Rec Hall, the Lions will try to keep their streak alive and avenge a tough loss to Rhode Island (7-5, 3-1) earlier this month in Kingston, R.I. The Rams handled Penn State throughout that contest en route to a 75-65 victory.

Penn State, which is averaging almost 77 points per game and a 48 percent field goal percentage, could only muster 65 points and shot a lackluster 40 percent from the floor. The frustration of that contest remains in the team's mind as it prepares to square off with Rhode Island again.

"That's something that's a plus in playing a team shortly after we played them the last time -- you still keep (the performance) fresh in your mind," Coach Bruce Parkhill said. "More than anything, we want to play better. I'm not sure revenge is the ultimate motivating factor as opposed to us wanting to play better basketball this time around."

The Lions hope some well-needed rest and the home crowd will spark the team's performance in this contest. Remnants of travel fatigue seemed to wear on the squad early against Duquesne. Tonight, the Lions will need to come out of the gate quickly against a scrappy Ram press that was able to stave off several late Penn State runs in the first meeting.

"We just never got over the hump (at Rhode Island). We never put it together," senior guard Freddie Barnes said. "Hopefully, we'll have a different attitude and be more agressive and execute more on offense."

In addition, Penn State will have to turn its defensive play up a notch. This year, the Lions have allowed over seven more points per game than the 1989-90 campaign. The smaller Ram team relies on quickness, a characteristic that poses a tough challenge for the Lions.

"In the first game we really didn't defend some of the screened action in their offense very well," Parkhill said. "We really had some breakdowns defensively that, everytime we were trying to make a run, really cost us. We didn't have really good support on their drives -- it was hard to match up because of their quickness."

Guard Eric Leslie was the most visible of the Ram scorers, exploding for 26 in the Jan. 5 contest. The senior now ranks second in scoring in the Atlantic 10, averaging 21.1 ppg.

The responsibility of stopping Leslie falls in the hands of Freddie Barnes. Leslie's strength thus far this season has been his creative and unpredicatable play with the basketball. He's an effective outside shooter and is also potent driving to the basket, Parkhill said.

"It's always tough (to guard him)," Freddie Barnes said. "He finds ways to get people to foul him -- he's a very canny player."

Center Jeff Kent had 16 against the Lions, averaging 12.4 this season. The junior also pulls down almost nine rebounds per game. Freshman forward Andre Samuel, who netted 11 points in the first contest, was named Freshman of the Week after posting a career-high 21 against St. Bonaventure on Monday.

For Penn State, junior Dave Degitz will start at center despite the recent surge of reserve C.J. Johnson. The senior recorded his fifth straight double-figure performance against the Dukes to earn conference Player-of-the-Week honors. Johnson led the Lions against Rhode Island with 13 points.

"C.J. was more comfortable in the role he has right now -- coming off the bench . . . part of his reasoning is that things are going well right now and he doesn't want to rock the boat," Parkhill said. "It's nice to have someone come off the bench and give the team a lift. There's also no question in my mind that Dave's slump is temporary and he'll be back to where he was."