By Jeff Rice, NN Senior Writer
jrice@nittanynetwork.com
Nov. 13, 2009

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Penn State got lots of No. 12 and enough from everyone else in Friday’s season opener. Talor Battle’s 27 points led the Nittany Lions to a 70-55 win over Penn in the Bryce Jordan Center.

Who made the big shots? Who made the plays under the radar? What kind of fight did the Quakers provide? NN breaks it down here.
 
Game ball: Talor Battle. The junior guard scored 27 points, getting to the basket whenever he wanted to and making big shots whenever his team needed them. He also added 10 rebounds and four assists in 39 minutes.
 
Turning point: Back-to-back 3-pointers by Adam Highberger, the walk-ons only points of the game, gave Penn State a 34-28 lead late in the first half and woke up what had been a sluggish offense to that point.
 
X-factor: Penn’s leading scorer, Tyler Bernardini, played only 17 minutes due to foul trouble and had only two points in the second half. None of the Quakers stepped up to replace his production.
 
Best play: Battle’s drive through four Penn players, stop and finish, which gave the Nittany Lions a 12-point lead with 4 minutes to play.
 
Strangest play: Battle getting the ball knocked out of his hands on a drive and into the hands of Sasa Borovnjak, who promptly put it in for two points.
 
Unsung hero: Jeff Brooks had a tidy 10 points on only four field-goal attempts, knocking down a couple of open 3-pointers.
 
Best coaching move: Ed DeChellis going to his bench early (12 Nittany Lions played in the first half), getting different players involved in the offense when most of the starters were sluggish. The Nittany Lions got needed sparks from Adam Highberger and Andrew Ott.
 
Red flags: The Nittany Lions made only 9 of 17 free throws. Andrew Jones, one of the team’s best free-throw shooters last season, missed both of his chances. The Nittany Lions finished with a 32-31 rebounding advantage but looked tentative on the glass for much of the game.