PORT! 1 8 I Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2010 Lions win close By Jared Shanker COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER It was a game Penn State didn't deserve to be in. A team with aspirations for its first NCAA Tournament ap- s, == pearance in MEN'S almost a decade BASKETBALL should not have *ded • 38-foot necv . a heave with 1.3 seconds left to beat a 3-5 Northeast Con- ference team. Yet that's what it came down to. and if not for another clutch, Mt st. m ary - s game-winning shot from senior Talor Battle to break a tie game, the Nittanv Lions would have been dealt a serious blow to its NCAA Tournament resume. The Lions (7 2) eked out the win, though, a 57-53 win over a depleted Mount St. Mary's on Tuesday at the Bryce Jordan Center. The Mountaineers (3-6) were picked to finish fifth in the NEC this year and were playing without five of their top nine players, including starting center Raven Barber. "No. it shouldn't have," Lions coach Ed DeChellis said when asked if it should have even come down to a final shot. The Mountaineers trailed the entire game until a Tavvon Jackson tip-in with 10:48 left gave the Mount a 38-37 lead. The Lions and the Mountaineers would trade leads three more times before the Lions took a two-point lead with 52 seconds left on a layup by Battle. See WIN. Page 10. Mid-major schools look for respect * "%M \ • * Collegian file photo Former Penn State running back Charlie Pittman carries in a 45-22 win over Navy in the opening game of the Lions' undefeated 1969 season. Pittman rushed for more than 100 yards in the game. Libero D’Errico focused on the road ahead Series Note: This is the first of a three-part series highlight ing the senior co-captains of the women's volleyball team. By Jake Kaplan COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER Alyssa D Errico couldn't wrap her head around 3-for-3, let alone 4-for-4. But with every win, D'Errico and the Penn State women’s vol leyball team are inching closer to ON TV NHL San Jose at Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m. CSN Toronto at Pittsburgh, 7:00 p.m. FSN Q: Before Monday night, when was the last time the New York Jets lost by 42 or more points? Yesterday's answer 13 times Penn State Talor Battle (12) watches his game winning 3-point shot fall in the Lions' 57-53 victory Tuesday night, Battle’s heroics save win He stood well beyond the arc, the ball in his hands. There were less than two sec onds left in the game. The score was tied. "Good players make shots in those situations," Mount St. Mary's coach Robert Burke said. "They know it's desperation.” Senior captain Talor Battle is the Penn State men’s basketball team's best player the Nittany completing what might’ve seemed like a long shot just a couple of months ago. D'Errico. along with her two fel low senior co-cap tains. is only four wins away from pulling off something no one else in Division I women's volleyball ever has winning a perfect fourth national championship in four years. "Oh. that would be incredible. I mean nobody has ever done it,” By Emily Kaplan COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER By Brendan Monahan COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER Charlie Pittman, Penn State’s tailback from 1967- 69, talked to Missouri's Jon Staggers years after the 1970 Orange Bowl when the Nittany __ Lions beat cnnT r,»,, the Tigers FOOTBALL 10-3 and Staggers called the win lucky. “I played two other teams that were better than you," Pittman remem bered Staggers telling him. “Who were they?” Pittman replied. “Kansas State and Colorado,” Staggers said. "Guess what,” Pittman told Staggers. “We beat them too." Decades later amid WOMENS VOLLEYBALL QUICK HITS Lions earn AVCA honors Four members of the Penn State women’s volleyball team took home AVCA Mideast Region honors on Tuesday. Seniors Blair Brown and Arielle Wilson as well as freshman Deja McClendon were named to the all-region team. McClendon as also named Mideast Region Freshman of the Year. Coach Russ Rose took home Mideast Region Coach of the Year honors, addition ally. Brown, Wilson an McClendon are now qualified for All-America honors, which will be announced during the the NCAA championship. Lions' leading scorer in each of the last three seasons. So Battle looked up at the clock, looked down at the ball, then did what felt natural to him. “I just shot the basketball with some confidence," Battle said. “Thank God it fell." Battle's heroic three pointer sealed a 57-53 win over the Mountaineers Tliesday night at the Bryce Jordan Center. Yet the joyous moment didn't exemplify the senior guards' per formance in the game only his laughs, Pittman said the revelation stunned Staggers. “I think people have pre conceived ideas where [the! best football is played,” Pittman said. “People didn’t have much respect for our teams until they played us, and then we beat them. That’s very sim ilar to what Boise State is going through.” The former Penn State running back said he iden tifies with TCU and Boise State. The two mid-major schools deal with the same stereotype that plagued the Penn State teams of the 1960 s and 19705, when the Lions tallied three unde feated seasons but never finished No. 1 in the Associated Press (AP) or D’Errico said of the possibility of her team hoisting another trophy after the championship match on Dec. 18 in Kansas City Mo. “And especially because this year has been such a year full of obstacles and adversity that ending it off with a national championship would just be the cherry on top of everything." D’Errico is in her second sea son starting at libero for the Nittany Lions after playing mostly as a defensive specialist her first two years. She played in every set Haynesworth suspended Simmering all year, the antagonism between Albert Haynesworth and Mike Shanahan finally reached the boiling point Tuesday when the two-time All-Pro defen sive lineman was suspended by the Washington Redskins coach without pay for the rest of the season. Citing a litany of acts that essentially add up to season-long insubordination, the Redskins suspended Haynesworth for “conduct detrimental to the club” and told him he’s not welcome for the team’s final four games and making it extremely unlikely he will play for the dub again. “Despite the club’s numerous attempts to persuade Albert Haynesworth to abide by the terms of his contract, he has repeat edly refused to cooperate with our coach ing staff,” Shanahan said in statement performance in the last two min utes. Battle struggled to find any offensive rhythm for most of the night. He was l-for-12 from the field and 0-for-6 from 3-point range before scoring the Lions' last seven points over the final 1:44. Battle finished the night with a team-high 13 points along with eight rebounds. "Offensively, he just didn't real ly have it tonight," coach Ed See BATTLE. Page 10. United Press International (UPI) polls. Media and schools from major conferences in other ends of the country per ceived eastern teams as inferior at the time. Many considered Penn State sec ond fiddle to teams such as Texas (Big 8) and Ohio State (Big 10) because the Lions played a perceived lower quality of opponent and hailed from the East. “Why? I don’t know,” said Dennis Onkotz, a Penn State All-American in 1968 and 1969 and College Football Hall of Famer, on the reason for people view ing the Lions as inferior. “It’s just, the history of eastern football wasn’t there. Who was a power house in the east in the ’sos See RESPECT. Page 10. of all three title matches, tallying a combined 42 digs. This year, in addition to being one of the team’s most vocal lead ers on and off the court, D’Errico’s team-leading 450 digs and 45 serv ice aces helped earn her an honor able mention on the All-Big Ten team. Penn State coach Russ Rose said people might under-appreci ate D’Errico’s influence on the court because his blocking system doesn’t allow liberos to have flashy See D’ERRICO, Page 10. The Daily Collegian Lions look to replace Wright By Mike Still COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER The No. 5 Penn State wrestling team has no backup at the 184-pound weight class. But coach Cael Sanderson will need to find one. All-American Quentin Wright, WRESTLING who suffered a left shoulder injury in the 184- pound finals of the Nittany Lion Open this past Sunday, will defi nitely be out for the Lions’ dual meet with Lock Haven this Wright Sunday and could be out until February, Sanderson confirmed Tuesday. "It’s gonna be through Christmas for sure,” the coach said of his redshirt sophomore. “But after that, I don’t know. It could be five weeks. It could be eight weeks at the most." An X-ray revealed that Wright's shoulder isn’t broken or separated, but the injury he sus tained is severe enough to side line him for significant time. Sanderson said Wright, who wasn’t at practice and not made available for comment, will just need to rest until he’s definitely ready to go, but the injury is not season-ending. True freshman Andrew Church, who has gone 5-5 wrestling at 174 pounds in unat tached matches this season, is expected to move up to 184 for this weekend. Regardless of when Wright can return. Sanderson said he is in no rush to bring him back from the injury. Like he did with 149-pounder Frank Molinaro’s preseason ankle injury this season, the coach will wait until Wright is 100 percent comfortable with com peting. "We want him for those big dual meets but ultimately we’re gonna do what’s in his best inter est and make sure he’s ready to go," Sanderson said. “But it'll give him a chance to just relax a little bit, and heal up, get his mind right. Wright’s absence has been felt immediately by his teammates. A leader both on and off the mat, Wright’s encouraging atti tude has been missed in practice ' this week. “I was devastated,” redshirt sophomore Justin Ortega said of seeing Wright go down last Sunday. “He’s an essential part to our team and winning a national championship.” To e-mail reporter: massB6o@psu.edu dyssa D’Errico makes a play. iOUGHTS Pitt’s Wannstedt Out Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt’s resignation yesterday could have a ripple effect. Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Bradley could potentially be a candidate for the Panthers’ ob as a result of his strong recruiting ties to western Pennsylvania and solid reputation as a defensive coach. Also, recruiting website Lions 247 is reporting that linebackers coach Ron Vanderlinden is interested in taking a head coaching position at Ball State. If these two coaches decide to leave, Penn State coach Joe Patemo might have to re-think his decision to return next sea son with two of his most valuable assistants gone.
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