It began with an 18-footer from the top of the key. The shot that had eluded Rahsaan Carlton since the beginning of preseason. Always a touch to the left, or a tad to the right.

This time, however, it fell. And the Rec Hall rafters, which had sat quietly through the summer months, suddenly were alive with ear-pounding cheers. A Penn State team that had stumbled through a lackluster season-opening loss and a pitiful first half had come alive.

Carlton's jumper was the spark that helped Penn State (1-1) erase a 43-33 halftime deficit and beat 1-1 Vermont, 80-72, last night in the Lions' home opener.

"I think the biggest shot of the game was the (shot) that 15 hit," Vermont Coach Tom Brennan said, referring to the assassin only by his license number. "We thought maybe we could slow them down a little bit."

Instead, behind 6,617 fans, the Lions came alive. And so did a sophomore forward who had struggled through the preseason and suffered through a 1-for-11 shooting performance at Vanderbilt last Friday.

Suddenly, his fists were pumping. He wanted the ball. And his presence was contagious.

Passes were hitting their mark, shots were falling, and Penn State rolled its way to a 18-4 run to start the second half. The Lions never looked back, with Carlton on the floor for the entire 20 minutes of the second stanza.

"There was no confidence problem," said Carlton, who finished with a career-high 21 points. "It's something that I always felt like I could do."

His outside shooting, combined with bombs by guards Michael Jennings and Dan Earl, opened up the inside for center John Amaechi, who ended the night with 19 points and 10 rebounds.

"Rahsaan Carlton had not played particularly well," Brennan said. "We were hoping we could maybe tame him a little bit."

In the first half, they tamed a pack of Lions. Penn State came out tentative and unaggressive and was victimized by Vermont's storm of three-point shooting. Forward Jeremy McCool kept the Catamounts hot with four three-pointers.

But as the Lions revved up, Vermont began to tire. And Penn State picked things up on the defensive end.

Behind strong inside play and rebounding, Penn State pulled away. And Carlton justly punctuated the victory with an uncontested slam in the waning seconds.

"It was really good to see Rahsaan get off," Lion Coach Bruce Parkhill said. "He's a guy that's capable of doing that and we're counting on him. He did a real good job in the second half."

Notes:

-- Vermont guard Eddie Benton -- the fifth-leading scorer in Division I last year -- scored 29 points on 9-for-26 shooting.

-- Amaechi reached double figures in points and rebounds for the eighth time in his career.

-- The Lions host Duquesne Saturday at 2 p.m.