Prior to Friday night's regular season opener against Morehead State, head coach Ed DeChellis told his players to play with energy, with a purpose, something he said the Penn State men's basketball team did not have in its two preseason exhibitions.

Jamelle Cornley didn't need that speech. He already had his motivation.

"We ran into a situation where we were tired of worrying about [Geary Claxton] and everything, worrying about when he's coming back. And everyone questioning, could we do things?" the sophomore forward said after the Nittany Lions defeated Morehead State, 63-49, at the Bryce Jordan Center.

Cornley, last year's Big Ten Freshman of the Year, led Penn State with 17 points and 12 rebounds, and fueled a 22-4 run spanning the final six minutes of the first half and first seven of the second half. That run put the game out of reach of the Eagles (0-1).

After losing Claxton to injury in their first exhibition game against Edinboro, and then losing to Shippensburg one week ago, the Lions went back to work in practice last week looking for enthusiasm, which was close to nil in the preseason.

"We made mistakes because we didn't have intensity in our exhibition games," redshirt sophomore Danny Morrissey said. "For us to come out and have energy from the start was key to the victory [Friday]."

Now the attention turns to maintaining that level. After practicing both days this weekend, Penn State (1-0) plays UNC-Greensboro at 7:30 tonight at the Bryce Jordan Center.

The Spartans (0-1) are a favorite to win the mid-major Southern Conference. They return four starters including forward Kyle Hines and guard Ricky Hickman, two players that are a concern for any opponent.

Hines averaged 19.3 points and 8.2 rebounds per game last season. Hickman scored 18.7 points a game.

"I know how good these guys are," DeChellis said. "We're going to have our work cut out for us because they have a good inside-outside game."

Without Claxton for at least the next five games, DeChellis is hoping all his players, not just Cornley, find a way to replace their best player's missing offense and rebounds.

Morrissey contributed nine points and six boards Friday in place of Claxton. Senior guard Ben Luber scored 12 points, had seven assists and five rebounds, but still Penn State is figuring out its most efficient way to play.

"We're still feeling around, trying to figure out what we're going to do," Cornley said. "We just need people to step up at any given time."

Friday it was Cornley. Tonight, DeChellis is looking for someone else.

"I don't want to put it on one guy or two guys," DeChellis said. "I'm trying to emphasize that everybody's got to be ready to play, and everybody's got to step up and help in whatever way they can."

Notes & quotes: Andrew Jones III did not play Friday night, and it is likely the 6-foot-8 freshman forward will redshirt this season. "We're probably going to go down that road," DeChellis said. "What I don't want to do is waste a year and get him eight to 10 minutes a game." Jones' initial reaction was positive, but DeChellis said it would be discussed further with Jones' family before a final decision is made. Senior guard David "Mooch" Jackson left Friday's game in the second half with leg cramps but should play tonight.