hed with nine points and six rebounds.UP NEXTGrand Canyon travels to Uncasville,

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- With injuries impacting their lineup early, freshmen have had to play big minutes in Penn States new fast-paced offense.They havent disappointed and on Tuesday, the Nittany Lions promising freshman class got help from a handful of veterans to pull away from Grand Canyon 85-76.Rookie Lamar Stevens scored 19 points and top returning scorers Payton Banks (15) and Shep Garner (14) chipped in to lead the Nittany Lions in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament.I think weve made a lot of good strides over the last three games, Banks said. I think were jelling well. I feel like the rotation, were starting to get used to it, starting to get used to where guys are going to be.They were all over the paint in scoring 40 points and netting 20 second-chance points against the Antelopes. Along with Stevens, freshman Tony Carr also had his third-straight double-digit game with 10 points.This is the type of scoring potential Penn State coach Pat Chambers envisioned when he pledged to meld young and old and chase 80-plus points per game in the preseason. To get there, the Nittany Lions (2-1) needed to overcome a 0-for-9 shooting slump in the first five minutes of the second half that saw them squander a 48-41 halftime lead.I found out a lot about my team, Chambers said. They dug deep, they got back to the middle of the ring, they punched back and we took the lead.Joshua Braun made 5 of 10 3-pointers and led Grand Canyon (0-2) with 25 points. Oscar Frayer, Darion Clark, Keonta Vernon and Shaq Carr also finished in double figures for the Antelopes with 13, 12, 11 and 10 points, respectively.Braun hit 2 of 3 free throws with 15:29 left to give Grand Canyon a 50-48 lead -- its last of the game.The Nittany Lions put together an impressive 13-7 run immediately thereafter in which Banks and Stevens combined for all 13 points. Stevens tipped in a rebound with 6:06 left to put Penn State up 75-63 for its biggest lead.We knew it was going to be tough game, Grand Canyon coach Dan Majerle said. Were shorthanded, DeWayne Russell is our starting point guard, he wasnt able to play the first two games, well get him back.BUSY SCHEDULEPenn State played its third game in five days and its schedule remains hectic for the near future. The Nittany Lions will cap the tournament with back-to-back games this weekend and will play five times in the final 11 days of the month.MORE FROM MOOREJulian Moore led Penn State with nine rebounds and had the type of game Chambers hoped he would have earlier. But foul trouble in the first two games limited Moores minutes. He played 20 against the Antelopes.HURT LIONSGuard Josh Reaves missed his third game with a lower leg injury and hes not expected to play this weekend. Forward Davis Zemgulis missed his first game with a concussion and Isaiah Washington also sat out for Penn State with an unspecified ailment.THE BIG PICTUREGrand Canyon: The Antelopes are 0 for 6 against Power 5 teams and have been outscored 550-365 since they joined the Division I ranks.Penn State: The Nittany Lions have never began a season with three freshmen starters in three straight games as they have with Stevens, Watkins and Tony Carr this year. Carr and Stevens were in double figures for the third time and Watkins finished with nine points and six rebounds.UP NEXTGrand Canyon travels to Uncasville, Connecticut to continue the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament against Albany on Saturday.Penn State will also visit Uncasville on Saturday where it will face No. 1 Duke. Swell Bottles Wholesale . -- The goal posts lying flat on the field, Arizonas fans lingered on the field, congregating around the locker room entrance nearly 30 minutes after rushing out of the stands. Swell Water Bottle Cheap . The Vikings announced Thursday that Priefer will be one of seven holdovers from the previous staff, along with offensive line coach Jeff Davidson, wide receivers coach George Stewart and others. Norv Turner will mark his 30th year of coaching in the NFL as the offensive co-ordinator, as widely reported for weeks, and George Edwards will be the defensive co-ordinator. http://www.swellbottlesclearance.com/swell-bottles-liberty.html . Miller reached right to deflect Mikhail Grabovskis attempt with just over 2 minutes remaining in regulation, and then made two more saves in the shootout Sunday to give the Sabres a 2-1 win over the Washington Capitals. Swell Bottle Wood Collection . With Parker having a quiet game for once, Nicolas Batum and Boris Diaw provided the scoring as France won its first major basketball title by beating Lithuania 80-66 on Sunday. It was a victory that ended a decade of frustration for Parker and a talented French generation, which lost the final against Spain two years ago and took bronze in 2005. Swell Bottles Clearance . Kyle Denbrook, a soccer player from Saint Marys University, took the CIS male athlete of the week honour. Stanley, a fourth-year business administration student from Charlottetown, scored both goals in a 2-0 win over Dalhousie on Friday and tallied again in a 1-0 win over Saint Marys on Sunday. LOS ANGELES -- The semifinal playoff series between the Los Angeles Sparks and the Chicago Sky could hang on the recovery of Elena Delle Donnes thumb.Delle Donne had surgery recently and coach Pokey Chatman said she wont play in Game 1 of the best-of-five series that begins Wednesday at Long Beach State and is doubtful for Game 2.Chicago guard Allie Quigley is impressed with how the Sky have played without the star forward.I just think we knew when she went down that we were all going to have to step up, Quigley said. Everyone was ready. Were not going to be like the team where, `Oh, theyre not that good without Elena. Everyone took it personal and stepped up big.The second-seeded Sparks, who had a double bye and havent played in 12 days, are planning for all scenarios, with or without Delle Donne. Chicago is planning to play without her.The Sparks, who had the second-best record in the league at 26-8, have shortened practices and structured them more like games in preparation for the playoffs.I also think theres an element of two things happening, Sparks coach Brian Agler said. I think we sat around for 5 1/2 weeks and everyone told us how good we are, and I think we softened up. Thats No. 1. No. 2, now its playoff time. Its easier to get peoples attention. I cant tell you the outcome of the games, but I think well be more engaged and focused.Delle Donne has captured the attention of the WNBA and its fans. And in her absence, her teammates are showing they can become a more guard-oriented team and be successful at it.Credit the players for stepping up individually and collectively, Chatman said. Unforttunately, in the past weve had to do that.dddddddddddd Elena has suffered with some injuries and the back injury. Theres not this collective sigh or panic on the players part.Dont misunderstand me, its an arduous task ... but also, its the beauty of sports that someone goes down and someone steps up. Some veteran players like Cappie Pondexter, Courtney Vandersloot and Tamera Young, theyve stepped up and changed the way we played in terms of our pace.The fourth-seeded Sky have played well without Delle Donne, going 4-2 with her out of the lineup.Chicago must play the Sparks with all of their All-Stars, like Candace Parker and WNBA MVP Nneka Ogwumike. Ogwumike led the team in scoring with 19.7 points per game.The Sparks have won all three meetings against Chicago this season, all by double digits.While the Sparks were waiting through byes, they scrimmaged and on Tuesday, visited with the homeless in nearby Venice and passed out blankets and shoes.They were back scrimmaging on Tuesday.Theyre playing great basketball, and theyve been without (Delle Donne), Parker said. Weve got to prepare for them. They have so many different weapons.Delle Donnes absence, and her regular-season scoring average of 21.5 points per game, is glaring for Chicago, which beat Atlanta to advance.We prepare like shes never coming back because everything else would be Merry Christmas to us, Chatman said. You have to because you dont want to put undue pressure on her to come back too soon if shes not ready. ' ' '