Penn State basketball fans were in for a few surprises last night when they arrived at the Bryce Jordan Center -- but not because of the game's outcome.

The Nittany Lions (3-3) fell to Rutgers (4-1) 60-47, on a night when sophomore guard Brandon Cameron announced his plans to transfer and forward Aaron Johnson returned to the court for his first action of the season.

A fairly uneventful first half got an interesting twist with 3:26 to go, when Johnson checked into the game. The previously dormant crowd of 7,413 at the Jordan Center rose and gave the sophomore power forward a loud ovation.

Unfortunately, the unexpected return of one of the Big Ten's top rebounders from last season would not be enough to ignite the Lions against a Scarlet Knights team that led the entire way.

"I just wanted to knock the rust off of him," Penn State coach Ed DeChellis said. "It's so important for him just to get a feel because he doesn't have a great idea of what we're running offensively yet. I was glad for him. He was excited to play."

Cleared to play just hours before game time, even Johnson himself was surprised to be back in action for a Lions team that has missed his inside presence all season.

"I didn't even know I was going to play until about five today," Johnson said. "I can run as many sprints as I want, but there's nothing like being in game shape. It was great."

Johnson, who had missed the first five games of the season to recover from surgery on a detached retina, was not expected to be back for a few weeks at the earliest, but took the court for the pre-game shoot-around, goggles and all.

The Lions were plagued all game by poor shooting, as many shots that had been falling early in the season rimmed out or missed altogether. Shooting a mediocre 28 percent from the floor, the Lions never seemed to get into a rhythm.

"We just couldn't make a shot," DeChellis said. "Everything was very, very laboring."

Heading into the game as the Lions' leading scorer, junior Jan Jagla was only able to manage nine points. DeChellis said that the 7-footer has been slowed by a cold for the past two days and feels miserable.

Despite shooting just 7-of-23 himself, sophomore swingman DeForrest Riley-Smith turned in Penn State's best performance of the night with a career-high 20 points. The sudden departure of Cameron left an already thin Lions' bench practically bare, forcing Riley-Smith and freshman Ben Luber to play all 40 minutes of the game.

"I welcome the responsibility," Luber said of the prospect of playing 35-40 minutes a game.

The Knights, who haven't won much of anything on the road in recent years, also recorded their first-ever road win against a Big Ten team. The Knights were led by 17-point performances by guards Ricky Shields and Quincy Douby.

"That was a great win for our program," Rutgers coach Gary Waters said. "They're missing a guard and I can see that. This game came down to defense and I feel we shut them down."

DeChellis now faces the problem of lifting his young team out of the shooting funk they've been facing.

"We've just got to get better," DeChellis said. "We're just kind of walking in mud right now. We're trying to be so positive everyday with guys, because I'm fearful of them losing some confidence."