BOX SCORE UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (Nov. 9, 2012) – Ollie Jackson (Dallas, Texas/Pinkston ) poured in a team-high 19 points as the Saint Francis U men's basketball team opened its season with a close 65-58 setback versus Penn State at the Bryce Jordan Center on Friday.

The Nittany Lions outscored the Red Flash 23-15 after SFU pulled ahead, 43-42, at the 10:50 mark of the second half.  The Flash was held scoreless for four-and-a-half minutes – from the 5:10 mark to the 39 second mark – while PSU was able to stretch its lead from seven points to 11.

Saint Francis reeled off nine of the contest's final 11 points to set the final score.

“We knew coming into the game in place like this, the margin for error was not going to be very big.  We had to execute for 40 minutes,” said head coach Rob Krimmel.  “I thought our guys battled but we just didn't execute in stretches.”

All-Big 10 guard Tim Frazier scored a game-high 23 points to lead Penn State's three double-digit scorers.  All but six of Frazier's points came via the free throw line.  The Nittany Lions stepped to the line 32 times over the course of the evening, converting 28 of those opportunities.

Saint Francis finished the game 9-of-14 from the foul line led by Jackson who made half of his six attempts. 

Jackson's 6-of-10 performance from the floor also paced an SFU offense that fired at a 58-percent (14-24) clip in the second half and 47-percent (21-45) on the night.  The sophomore posted a 4-for-8 night from the 3-point arc.  SFU hit seven threes in the game.

“I thought Ollie did a great job,” said Krimmel.  “He's been consistent all preseason for us and is a kid that we're going to have to rely on this year.”

PSU connected on only 17 of 47 shots from the field (36.2%) and was a frigid 3-of-24 from long range.

The first half was a close as the 26-20 score at the intermission would indicate.  The Red Flash converted on 7-of-21 attempts from the field and got four points apiece from Ronnie Drinnon (Jamestown, Ohio/Greenview), Jackson and Kam Ritter ( Niskayuna, N.Y./Christian Boys Academy). 

The Nittany Lions dominated the frame on the boards to the tune of 30-to-12 and parlayed that into a 38-to-22 advantage by the end of the night.

Penn State and Saint Francis combined for 22 turnovers in the first half but cleaned up considerably in the second period, cutting that total in half.

Umar Shannon (Atlantic City, N.J./Atlantic City) and Ritter – who shot 4-for-4 from the field – each scored nine points.  Shannon led the Flash with five rebounds.

SFU returns to action on Tuesday when it visits Niagara for a 7 p.m. contest.