Following the biggest defensive lapse in 13 years, it would be natural for the Penn State men's basketball team to question its ability to compete.

But that's not the case -- even after Thursday's 104-69 loss to No. 18 Ohio State (11-1, 1-1 Big Ten), only the second time in history that Penn State has allowed more than 100 points in Big Ten play.

Forward Geary Claxton said the Nittany Lions (8-4, 0-1 Big Ten) still had the ability to upset a lot of teams. And rookie forward Jamelle Cornley even took it one step further.

"I don't think any of their personnel is better than us," he said. "It's just a matter of us executing."

Against the Buckeyes, it seemed Penn State's only form of execution came from repeatedly shooting itself in the foot -- the Lions committed 14 first-half turnovers, which led to 27 OSU points.

"We just made a few mistakes, turned the ball over and they were hitting a lot of shots," Claxton said. "They were just making everything."

The Buckeyes sank 14 of their first 16 shots, and finished with a 63.2 shooting percentage from the floor. Still, Ohio State's early hot streak didn't excuse the Lions' sub-par performance the rest of the game.

Cornley explained that most of Penn State's struggles were related to nervousness, and the team's mistake-filled opening only complicated matters. The freshman also added the team tends to get out of character after committing so many turnovers.

"We need to play to win, not play not to lose," Cornley said. "Sometimes we're so focused on not messing up to the point that we're not worried about what we need to get done."

While Thursday's Big Ten debut was loaded with a whole lot of negative aspects, there still is some good news for the Lions.

Penn State remains four games above .500 -- its best start through 12 games since the 2000-01 season -- after winning four straight games over winter break against the likes of St. Francis (Pa.), New Hampshire, IFPW and Mount St. Mary's.

Granted, the Lions' non-conference schedule is about as rigorous as reading picture books. But Penn State still has a four-game cushion to work with through its Big Ten slate.

"These guys are chomping on the bit to go out and redeem themselves," assistant coach Hillary Scott said.

Home cooking

Cornley, last year's Mr. Basketball Ohio, scored a career-high 20 points in his return to his hometown of Columbus Thursday night.

The freshman was energized with 58 friends and family members in attendance, and he finished by going 10-of-16 while pacing the Lions with six rebounds in 34 minutes.

"It was fun to go out in front of my hometown, but it was kinda hard," Cornley said. "I'm the type of player who would rather score zero points and win rather than score 20 points and lose -- and the way we lost, it was kinda embarrassing."