Jeff Brooks must have channeled his inner Christian Laettner for Monday night’s performance. The standout senior forward scored 21 points, shooting 7-7 from the field and 6-6 from the free-throw line, and helped Penn State defeat the Blue Devils of Central Connecticut State 77-61.

Taran Buie added 14 points and four rebounds in 21 minutes of work, which offset his half-brother Talor Battle’s lackluster performance. Battle scored nine points on 4-of-15 shooting, causing some to believe his misaligned hip problem from the offseason isn’t healed yet.

Central Connecticut State, who brought a 3-0 record into the Bryce Jordan Center, was stifled offensively and did not even come close to the 82 points they averaged in their first three games. They found themselves down 9-0 until Shemik Thompson hit a jumper with 15:38 left. Thompson led the Blue Devils’ scoring with 18 points.

Penn State will face their first real challenge of the season when they travel to Ole Miss on Friday night. They will attempt to go 5-0 in that game, a feat that would equal the 2008-2009 squad’s record through five games when they went on to win the NIT Championship.

Cleaning the Glass:

• Tim Frazier had his second good game in a row, running the point turning in eight points and tieing his career high with seven assists.
• Eleven players saw action in Monday night’s game, the deepest rotation Coach DeChellis has had this season.
• DeChellis announced after the game that freshman forward Jon Graham is experiencing lingering knee problems and will be red-shirted this year. This is another big hit to the front court after losing sophomore Sasa Borovnjak in the offseason.