Penn State men's basketball coach Ed DeChellis has often emphasized the importance of loose ball situations.

During the closing seconds of yesterday's 79-78 defeat against Georgetown, Penn State and DeChellis saw just how vital -- and demoralizing -- this facet of the game can be.

With Penn State holding a one-point lead with 2.2 seconds remaining in its home opener, Brandon Bowman rolled the ball inbound toward a teammate. Guard Brandon Cameron, reacting to the loose ball, dove for it, but collided with Georgetown's Ashanti Cook. Cameron was called for the controversial foul, and Cook sunk the resulting free throws to ensure Hoya victory.

The game had begun so brightly for Penn State, who strung together 13 straight points to start the game and entered the half with a 42-33 lead.

But halftime proved to be a watershed, as Georgetown rallied to tie the game at 46 and took its first lead with 7:22 remaining.

Georgetown coach Craig Esherick was impressed by Penn State's early surge and awestruck by the game's ending.

"They were hot and we could not have been colder, but we were lucky to be only down nine at the half," Esherick said. "That was a heck of a way to end the game . . . that was a great basketball game."

DeChellis, who took the blame for Cameron's hustle, said poor ball handling and immaturity hurt Penn State.

"[Losing] matters to me a lot, but we didn't do what we needed to do and we were careless and foolish with the ball," DeChellis said. "I was disappointed that we didn't come out in the second half like we would have liked to . . . I feel miserable"

Jan Jagla, who overcame foul trouble with a solid second-half showing, led Penn State with 23 points and 11 rebounds.

According to senior Ndu Egekeze, who provided a spark from the bench, the atmosphere created by the Bryce Jordan Center crowd of 8,874 was reminiscent of Penn State's 2001 Sweet 16 run. With thirty seconds remaining in the game, Egekeze drew a foul on a dunk, ensuing fan frenzy and exciting his teammates. The subsequent foul shot extended Penn State's lead to 76-72, but exposed a weakness, the inability to keep a lead.