Clinging to a five-point lead midway through the second half, Talor Battle drove into the lane and hesitated 10 feet from the hoop.
Once his defender had caught up -- and even eased up a bit defensively -- Battle exploded by him and the rest of the Penn defense for a scooping layup and the foul.
The junior guard was one step ahead of the Quakers all night with 27 points and 10 rebounds, as the Penn State men's basketball team knocked off its intrastate rival, 70-55.
Seven months removed from a National Invitation Tournament championship, Battle said the wait to play a meaningful game was what drove him and the rest of the Nittany Lions to their fifth-straight season-opening win.
"I hate exhibition games because you get hyped to play a game that really doesn't count," Battle said. "I couldn't wait, and now that it's over and we won I'll calm down a little bit. I'm just happy we got this first win."
Battle shot just 2-of-8 from 3-point range, but missed only three shots in 12 attempts from inside the arc.
He said his ability to penetrate opposing defenses will be crucial this season when he struggles from the perimeter.
"My shot really wasn't falling tonight," Battle said. "That is an ability I have -- to attack the rim and score the ball in the paint. When my shot wasn't falling, I tried to do that late in the game."
The Quakers spent the first half of Friday's season opener trying to get the ball out of Battle's hands.
When they were able to force the junior guard, who posted 17 of his 27 in the opening stanza, to kick the ball to Adam Highberger twice, Highberger coolly knocked down a pair of 3-pointers.
Highberger's threes keyed an 8-1 run to close the half, giving the Lions a lead they would never relinquish. The Quakers were held without a field goal during that run, which lasted more than six and a half minutes.
Penn coach Glen Miller said the spurt stemmed from Battle's ability to draw defenders to him.
"They spread you out with the other four guys and really let him make plays -- which he does a very good job of doing," Miller said. "He makes his teammates better, and we just had a tough time. We didn't have an answer for him -- many teams don't."
Penn State didn't have much of an answer either for Penn's Tyler Bernardini in the opening minutes. The 6-foot-6 swing man posted Penn's first ten points, but foul trouble caused him to play only 17 minutes and score just two more.
The Lions had their own problems with fouls as both Chris Babb and David Jackson picked up two in the first nine minutes and were forced to sit for the remainder of the first half. Andrew Jones -- who struggled to find a rhythm all night, scoring just four points -- fouled out.
"There was a lot of fouls both ways -- we have to adjust to that," head coach Ed DeChellis said. "If guys are going to call it the way they did tonight, we have to keep our hands off."
Because of the foul trouble, the Lions were forced to look to last season's leading scorer Talor Battle to not only lead in points -- junior forward Jeff Brooks was the only other scorer in double figures -- but minutes as well.
Battle led the nation in minutes last season and played 39 out of 40 on Friday night.
"He'll complain to me at the end of the year that he's played the most minutes in the country," DeChellis said. "And then when I try to take him out, he'll say 'I'm ready to go.' "
