All Ben Luber needed was some Advil and a good night's rest.

With 16:58 remaining in last Saturday's game against Morgan State, the point guard took a vicious shot to the chin and went down hard.

The blow to the head resulted in what Luber described as a "minor concussion" and forced the senior to watch helplessly as his team struggled its way to a less-than-convincing 80-71 victory over the winless Bears.

"It was tough [to have to sit and watch], but I think the team pulled together and made a little run. I think some guys maybe played harder [after I went down]," Luber said. "Guys like Mike [Walker] and David ['Mooch' Jackson] picked it up and it was a good thing to get some other guys to play the point."

After taking Sunday off to rid his head of the cobwebs, Luber passed a concussion test yesterday morning and said he felt fine. But team doctors did not clear him to participate in any "live action" drills yesterday.

He was allowed to take part in conditioning and as long as he remained headache free, he would be cleared to practice today and be eligible to play tomorrow night against Hartford.

With Luber's head feeling like the pavement under a jackhammer, Jackson was forced to move from his normal two-guard position to point.

Although he doesn't practice at the point, Jackson had no problem making the switch and becoming the Lions ball handler.

"I played point in high school, so it's pretty much a regular thing to me," Jackson said. "I even play point at the two guard sometimes."

The team may feel comfortable with the ball in Jackson's hands, but even leading scorer Jamelle Cornley admitted it was different without a four-year starter on the court.

"It does change [when Ben goes out] because he has been the floor general for three years already and he knows he's going to get pressured. He's able to control the offense a lot more than Mooch, but Mooch really doesn't practice at that position," Cornley said. "So it's nothing against Mooch, but that's Ben's set position and it's a little different. But we have to adjust and Mooch is doing a good job of taking the pressure and making good calls and good reads."

Jackson may fill in when called upon, but Luber is still the team's "quarterback." He leads the Lions in minutes, assists and steals. But, he says he needs to do more for Penn State to be successful.

"I need to be more aggressive, because against tough pressure defense, the only way to score is to get in the middle of the paint and create for other people," Luber said. "It's tough on the body playing aggressively against athletic guards, but I think that's what we need."

Quotable

At yesterday's press conference, head coach Ed DeChellis addressed the lack of post help from the bench.

"We need to get something out of [Milos Bogetic] and he has just not provided that right now. We're pretty soon going to switch gears and throw Joonas [Suotamo] in here and see what he can do. We'll have to play it by ear and see what happens, but we're not getting any backup help at all."