PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- Midway through the second half, Talor Battle was alone in the backcourt and nearly turned the ball over.
Wanting to play fast all night, he had his body moving faster than his dribble just as he was about to the push the ball upcourt. The basketball ricocheted off his leg, but Battle chased it down near the baseline and smiled, hurrying upcourt to keep the Penn State offense in rhythm.
With the outcome well in hand, that brief scare would've been only hid second turnover as the sophomore point guard made it look easy finding players cutting to the basket, knocking down deep jumpers and finishing in transition, filling the box score with 15 points, nine assists and eight rebounds in the Nittany Lions' 78-54 win against Towson Saturday night at the Palestra. The Lions finished 3-1 in the Philly Hoop Group Classic.
The Tigers shot less than 30 percent for the game, and coach Pat Kennedy attributed that more to a lack of execution than Penn State's half-court defense. Still, Penn State coach Ed DeChellis said his squad played its best defense individually all season. No Tiger that saw more than 10 minutes of game action shot better than 43 percent from the field.
Sophomore center Andrew Jones pulled down a season-best 13 rebounds to lead all players.
For complete wrap-up check Monday's Daily Collegian.
