PHILADELPHIA -- They say when a player is hot -- "in a groove" -- he wants the ball everytime down the floor.

Point guard Freddie Barnes is in that groove. Barnes scored nine of the Lions' final 15 points in a 71-67 comeback win over St. Joseph's at the Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse last night.

"Usually I have it anyway when I'm coming down the court," Barnes joked, when asked if he wanted the ball every trip down. "I've been looking to be more aggressive as of late."

Barnes' 18 points led Penn State. He now has 74 points (18.5 points per game) in his last four games.

Penn State trailed 65-60 after St. Joe's forward Marlon Miller nailed two free throws with 1:32 remaining. On the next possession, Barnes came down the floor and made a twisting, leaning jumper in the lane to cut the lead to three with 1:24 left.

"Freddie made that leaner," Coach Bruce Parkhill said. "That was a tough shot . . . If he doesn't make that shot we lose the game."

The Lions immediately called timeout to set up their full-court press. Penn State forward James Barnes fouled Hawks' forward Matt Guokas on the inbounds play. Guokas missed the free throw and James Barnes was fouled by guard Bernard Blunt. Blunt left the game with five fouls and James Barnes sank both free throws with 1:16 left to make it 65-64. Hawks' forward Richard Stewart was fouled by guard Monroe Brown again on the inbounds play. He made both free throws to push the lead back to three with 1:14 left.

Then Freddie Barnes took over. Penn State came down the floor and set up its offense. But Barnes kept the ball in his hands at the top of the key. He set himself to shoot. When he lifted his feet off the ground he was behind the 3-point line. But the line was the NBA 3-point line painted on the Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse floor -- also the practice facility of the Philadelphia 76ers.

"I just wanted to get off a good shot," Barnes said. "I saw that they backed off and I just shot it. I didn't really know I was that far out."

When Barnes' shot hit the bottom of the net with 1:04 left, it sent a large Penn State contingency into a frenzy and left the Hawks' fans stunned. The Lions had crawled back to even the game at 67-67. St. Joseph's attempted to spread the floor and get a good shot. But Guokas set a moving pick which sent Barnes sprawling to the floor with 20 seconds left. He dusted himself off, stepped to the free-throw line and calmly sank both shots to give the Lions the lead.

"I like going to the free-throw line late in the game," Barnes said.

The Hawks still had a chance to tie the game and send it into overtime. But Curry's 12-foot jump shot bounced off the rim. James Barnes grabbed the rebound with seven seconds left and tossed it to Barnes.

It would have been fitting for Barnes to finish the game with the ball in his hands. But out of the corner of his eye, Barnes saw forward DeRon Hayes breaking down the court.

"I didn't see anybody behind him," Barnes said. "Instead of going to the line I just threw it."

Hayes caught the ball just past half court and finished the game with a powerful one-handed slam.

"They made the plays they had to make," St. Joseph's coach John Griffin said. "Freddie Barnes had five points in the last minute. He really took over."

The Lions have sometimes been criticized this season for their apparent lack of leadership. In the last four games, Barnes has stepped forward.

"I hope I can be a leader down the stretch," he said. "Because we are going to need it going into the tournament."