Mike Walker dribbled into the right corner and launched a long 3-pointer with a man in his face.

The ball swished through the basket as Walker fell to the floor and the referee whistled Cornell for a foul, causing the crowd to erupt in cheers.

It was the kind of shot that might have bounced off the rim in a cold-shooting first half for Penn State, but they fell after halftime in the Nittany Lions' 66-54 win against the Big Red yesterday.

"We needed a little bit of offense. We were kind of struggling," said Walker, a reserve guard. "A couple of assistant coaches told me, 'Don't think about your shots, just put it up.' "

Lenny Collins had 14 points for Cornell (1-2) but shot just 6 of 22 from the field, while Adam Gore also had 14.

Penn State (1-0) stepped up its defense and outscored Cornell 32-12 the last 11-plus minutes of the game, and took the lead for good with their best player, Geary Claxton, on the bench with foul trouble.

Coach Ed DeChellis was pleased after being concerned with his bench's lackluster play in the team's final exhibition game. "The jobs aren't locked up. We're still in a phase where if guys play well and play hard, everything is wide open," he said.

The Nittany Lions won their first season opener since 2000.