AT COURTSIDE: Lisicky's hot hand scorches Quakers

Saturday's Atlantic City Shootout game was widely acclaimed as the homecoming for heralded Penn State point guard Dan Earl, a native of Medford Lakes, N.J., where he was honored as the USA Today New Jersey Player of the Year while a senior at Shawnee High School in 1993. Instead, the most memorable voyage related to the Nittany Lions' lopsided 88-61 victory was Pete Lisicky's trek into the zone. Lisicky, a 6-foot, 4-inch guard from Whitehall, Pa., singlehandedly shot down Penn's chances at the Atlantic City Convention Center with a career-high 35 points on 13-of-15 shooting from the floor. Perhaps more impressive than that was Lisicky's 9-of-10 explosion from three-point land. The sophomore's nine treys were a school record, breaking Tom Hovasse's record of seven set Feb. 4, 1989, at George Washington. Lisicky's bullseye shooting was unexpected to say the least -- both by him and the Quakers, who were much more concerned about Earl, the Lions' heady playmaker. Earl still dished out 10 assists on the evening, but was overshadowed by his backcourt mate. "Actually, during the shoot around, I thought I'd have problems," said Lisicky, referring to the immense amount of space between the baskets and the backdrop in the convention center more fit for slot machine makers than college hoopsters. "The guys were just setting me good screens and getting me the ball." That they were. And the Quakers did nothing to stop it for most of the game. En route to building Penn State a 46-27 halftime edge, Lisicky piled up 24 points, just three less than his opponents combined. The onslaught started early. After a Tim Krug tip-in gave Penn its last lead at 4-2, Lisicky buried consecutive trifectas. Several minutes later, he exploded for eight points in 30 seconds, expanding the Lions' bulge to 21-11. He then added two medium-range jumpers prior to another spree from the long range. Back-to-back threes widened a 15-point spread to an almost insurmountable cushion of 21 just two minutes before the intermission. "The kid missed two shots all day," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. "I have to give him a lot of credit. He was just terrific out there. We played some man against him, and we tried some zone, but we needed someone to step up and say 'I'm not going to let him catch the ball any more.' That didn't happen until Jamie [Lyren] said that to me at the end of the half. It was amazing to watch. I just wish it didn't happen against us." His marksmanship was just as impressive in the second stanza. When the Quakers cut a 21-point margin down to 12 for the first time, Lisicky nailed a jumper from 17 feet. Another spurt by Penn cut the deficit to nine, at which point the cold-blooded Lisicky made it clear to all 7,962 spectators in attendance that there would be no comeback. Cutting off a down screen, he popped to the top of the key and sank his seventh three-pointer. That was the difference all night. Bigger, stronger Lions players were setting screens on Penn's inexperienced guards to free Lisicky for just an instant. He had the ability to square himself and fire before help could arrive. Before Lisicky had left his zone, the Quakers had left the building -- with a 1-3 record and 20 days to ponder their defensive hustle and their next opponents.