“Free Big Macs for everyone!”*

That was the sentiment shared by most students that attended the basketball game last night in which Penn State (3-0) defeated the Long Island Blackbirds (0-3) 77-68.

It had taken 28 games, dating back to early last season, for the Nittany Lions to reach the 70-point threshold required for the beloved Big Mac Attack promotion to kick-in. Penn State would net most of those points in back-and-forth play, and Penn State didn’t pull away from the Blackbirds until the very end.

The story of the game was foul trouble. Penn State committed 24 fouls over the night, and had two starters with 4 fouls a piece. As a result, Long Island logged an eye-popping 27 points from the free throw line. At one point, the officiating became so ticky-tac that Pat Chambers lost his cool and was charged with a technical foul after yelling at a ref. This is certainly something new for Penn State basketball fans after watching the cool tempered Ed DeChellis for the past eight seasons.

Tim Frazier went off again, scoring a career-high 26 points with 10 assists on the way to his second straight double-double. Frazier hit 3 of 4 from the 3-point line and seemed to be involved in nearly every play.

Once again, Pat Chambers used his bench to his advantage with nine players recording more than 10 minutes. Every single one of those players also scored at least once. Two freshman players who came off the bench in particular, Matt Glover and Ross Travis, are absolute beats on the floor, diving for every ball and playing smothering defense. Chambers even described Travis as being like a “wrecking ball.” That moniker of pure energy is not much of an overstatement.

Cammeron Woodyard also showed up today, putting up 13 points of his own. Billy Oliver was the only other player besides Woodyard and Frazier to notch over 30 minutes of court time, and he made three 3-pointers to show for it. His shooting stroke appears to be much improved from last season.

As far as game action goes, Penn State led most of the second half but untimely fouls and missed defensive assignments in the last few minutes put Penn State in the locker room tied at 36.

Penn State came out in the second half to more of the same, but huge 3-pointer shots by Billy Oliver and Cammeron Woodyard in the last 4 minutes put the game out of reach for Long Island.

Penn State’s next game is against the #2 Kentucky Wildcats this Saturday in Connecticut as part of the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament. Remember, Long Beach State did beat Pitt last night…

* Wondering what the free Big Macs thing is? Here’s what GoPSUSports.com has to say about the promotion:

BIG MAC ATTACK, Presented by McDonald’s
When the Nittany Lions score 70 or more points in a home game, all fans in attendance will receive a FREE BIG MAC! Just present your game ticket stub at any State College-area McDonald’s over the next (7) days to receive your FREE BIG MAC. McDonald’s is proud to be the presenting partner of the NITTANY NATION and sponsor of Penn State Basketball!