Talor Battle and the other Penn State men's basketball starters joked they wanted to be sitting on the bench for the final 10 minutes of Friday's game.
They got their wish -- watching their teammates finish out an easy 82-51 exhibition win over Division II Slippery Rock in front of a crowd of 7,623 at the Bryce Jordan Center. It was the first time Nittany Lion fans had a chance to watch the Lions play on their home court following last spring's National Invitation Tournament championship run.
"No offense to Slippery Rock, but we wanted to come out and take them right out of the game," Battle said. "We took care of business and put the game out of reach right from the get-go."
A different Lion starter scored each of the team's first five field goals and continued on a 19-0 run in the game's first six minutes. Battle led the team in points and rebounds in a double-double performance with 16 points and 10 boards. While he battled a stomach virus, Battle outscored the Rock by himself in the game's opening 14 minutes, owning a 12-11 advantage over the opposition.
Sophomore Chris Babb, starting for the first time as a Lion, scored 12 points and collected nine rebounds. Babb took passes from junior forward Andrew Jones on back-to-back possessions, draining two 3-pointers in two identical plays.
Aside from that 45-second span, though, Babb and Battle failed to make a 3-pointer, combining to go 2-for-14. The Lions finished 21 percent from 3-point range, 5-for-24, and still managed to put up a point total only amassed five times in the entire 2008-09 season.
"We didn't shoot the ball well at all," coach Ed DeChellis said. "We couldn't make a three. But we'll make perimeter shots. Chris Babb is a good shooter. Talor is a good shooter. Cam Woodyard is a good shooter. Those three guys will make shots for us."
DeChellis said he was pleased with all other aspects of the game.
He complimented the way the Lions passed the ball and defended. Slippery Rock, which only lost to Pitt by nine points last week, shot the ball early and often but only made 26 percent of their long balls.
Slippery Rock senior forward Bryen Spriggs said he noticed differences between Pitt and Penn State -- Penn State had experienced players and a level of tenacity those players brought from the beginning.
The Lions utilized a man-to-man defense on the Rock and closed out on three-pointers. They owned a 60-37 rebounding advantage over an undersized Slippery Rock frontline and junior Andrew Ott grabbed seven boards off the bench for the Lions.
"It was typical Penn State, us on the glass, something that we do day in and day out every day in practice," said Jones, who finished with five points and five boards. "The effort was there."
Freshman forward Sasa Borovnjak epitomized that effort, drawing three fouls as he went up strong to the glass on three occasions. He finished the game with 10 points, third best on the team, and drew the loudest cheer from the crowd on a spin move around a defender on the baseline.
With Penn State opening up against Penn on Friday, DeChellis said the next week of practice will be extremely important in ensuring the team is prepared for its first game.
"I think this game was primarily for us to see how well we came out as far as our energy and how well we reacted to the officials and with the crowd," Jones said.
