As the straws keep piling up on the camel's back, a penny is a bargain price to find out just what the Nittany Lions are thinking. In a season destined for frustration, Penn State may be down in the Big Ten standings, but -- from the sound of things --not out.

For example:

-- Bruce Parkhill stood poker-faced in front of the podium, waiting for the postgame questions to begin. His team had just squandered a 15-point lead over the Buckeyes and failed once again to win a close game.

Reporters braced themselves, wondering how Parkhill would vent his anger (especially considering one scribe had just referred to him as Barry).

But there were neither fireworks nor sappy violins.

"I'm really proud of the guys," Parkhill began. "They really competed and played a tough game. It's real tough to keep going to the well and coming up dry. And that's why I'm real proud of our guys."

-- DeRon Hayes had just suffered what was probably his most unproductive game of the season.

With 4:56 left in the game, he exited with five fouls and zero points.

Afterwards though, when Hayes was asked the biggest lesson learned from the game, he offered this:

"We can compete with anybody," Hayes said. "There's no reason to ever keep our heads down."

He paused, a smile beginning to form on his face.

"We're gonna pull it off," Hayes said. "Somebody's gonna be sorry, I'm telling you, we're gonna pull it off. This game boosts our confidence up more than ever."

To Hayes, the glass is half full, and far from empty.

-- Patiently sitting on the bleachers in St. John Arena, waiting to board the bus, John Amaechi, who scored 20 points in the losing cause, seemed relaxed. Briefly, he mulled over the results of the afternoon's events.

"It was a positive in that we played hard, and we played well," Amaechi said. "But people don't know these things from the boxscores."

It is the heart and soul, more so than the points and rebounds, that delineates the character of the undermanned Penn State team. The Lions have stayed close, they have fought hard, but still they remain one step away.

"You've got to finish the job," Amaechi offered. "Today we didn't finish the job."

-- During yesterday's news conference, after having two days to ponder the Ohio State game, Parkhill summarized his attitude toward the team and its effort.

"On Saturday they played a great game," Parkhill said "We've done that a couple of times and come up short. But the fact that they're able to do it and they still have what it takes to do it is really what counts to me."

Obviously the camel's back is far from broken. Of course, when Bobby Knight saddles up tonight, anything can happen.