STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- As soon as he joined his team for a shootaround earlier Friday, Albany coach Will Brown grew worried.His players were wandering the Bryce Jordan Center hardwood with their phones out, cameras snapping and videos rolling as they took in the sights and sounds of Penn States cavernous arena.A few hours later, Browns apprehension over whether his team was prepared to open the season against a Power 5 team had faded with its 87-81 win over the Nittany Lions.They call these games bye games or guarantee games or money games, the big boy is supposed to beat the little boy, Brown said. We didnt come here just to play in a nice arena and get some money out of it and all that stuff. We were here to win.They did so convincingly against the Nittany Lions who welcomed six new faces in the lineup and had one of its expected top-contributors out with an injury.Joe Cremo scored 22 points, Dallas Ennema had 20 points and David Nichols added 19 to lead Albany.Shep Garner made three free throws with 17 seconds left to pull Penn State to 82-79 but Cremo, Ennema and Marqueese Grayson combined to hit five free throws to ice the season opener for both teams.The Great Danes dominated the first half, leading 41-25 at halftime. They fended off Penn States late rally by controlling the glass and playing opportunistic offense.Albany pulled down 43 rebounds to Penn States 26 and scored 20 points off of fast breaks.Garner scored 17 of Penn States final 19 points and finished with 20. His teams unbalanced scoring pace wasnt what Penn State coach Patrick Chambers had in mind when he said Penn State would try to score 80 points per game, something they did just three times in regulation last season.We came all the way back but we cant wait to come all the way back in the second half, Chambers said. Weve got to understand that you have to play hard from the tip.BALANCED SCORING, AGAINThe Great Danes got contributions up and down the lineup all last season with Evan Singletary, Peter Hooley and Ray Sanders all averaging just over 12 points per game. Cremo also averaged double figures with 10.5 points per game last season and got plenty of help in the opener.A GLIMPSE OF WATKINSThe long awaited debut of big man Mike Watkins was a promising one for Penn State. The power forward was ruled ineligible by the NCAA last season and was a physical force in his first game, providing Penn States few highlights around the rim.The Philadelphia native scored the games opening basket on a nice turnaround jumper and chipped in three blocks and two rebounds in the opening three minutes. He finished with seven rebounds, five blocks and 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting.BANKS ON THE MENDA hamstring injury kept versatile forward Payton Banks out of Penn States exhibition against Lock Haven a week ago and he was rusty off the bench, going 1-for-5 in just nine first-half minutes before heating up and finishing with 14 points.Banks said he felt 100 percent before, during and after the game.BIG PICTUREAlbany: The Great Danes won nine of their last 12 games last season, but suffered back-to-back losses in the America East and CBI tournaments. They snapped that losing skid with a convincing win in which they led in nearly every statistical category.Penn State: With six new faces in the lineup, its going to take much longer for Patrick Chambers to find what pieces fit where. Hell continue to bring players off the bench to spread minutes around and mix veterans with newcomers to build chemistry. Guard Josh Reaves absence due to a lower leg injury could make the first part of that tougher with fewer players on the bench.UP NEXTAlbany plays at Cincinnati on Monday.Penn State hosts Duquesne on Sunday. Jesse Lingard Jersey . - Chris Tierney snapped a tie with a power-play goal late in the third period as the London Knights rallied from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Erie Otters 5-3 in Ontario Hockey League action on Wednesday. Marcos Rojo Jersey . As he recorded his 23rd and 24th points of the evening, a segment of the sellout Air Canada Centre crowd expressed their appreciation for the Raptors point guard with a smattering of MVP chants. http://www.manunitedfcpro.com/ . Peter Holland and Brad Staubitz were sent to Toronto on Saturday as the Maple Leafs traded defenceman Jesse Blacker and draft picks to the Anaheim Ducks. Chris Smalling Jersey . -- Hunter Smith scored the winner with just 12 seconds remaining in the third period as the Oshawa Generals edged the host Sarnia Sting 5-4 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. Victor Lindelof Jersey . -- Josh Sterk scored once and set up two more as the Oshawa Generals edged the visiting Belleville Bulls 3-2 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. England Women have announced a 54-strong elite player squad for this season, with more than half the group awarded inaugural 15-a-side professional contracts.The squad is split into full-time, part-time, short-term and non-contracted players. Eight of Great Britains Rio Olympics rugby sevens squad that narrowly missed out on a medal in Brazil will return to the 15-a-side programme, including Emily Scarratt, Claire Allan, Natasha Hunt and Danielle Waterman.Eighteen players have been handed full-time deals as England look to retain the womens World Cup in Ireland next August, with nine on part-time contracts, 11 gaining short-term deals and 16 non-contracted.The squad will prepare for games in November aggainst France, Ireland, New Zealand and Canada, ahead of the Six Nations, in addition to the HSBC world rugby sevens series.ddddddddddddEngland Women head coach Simon Middleton said: With less than 12 months to the 2017 womens Rugby World Cup, the focus for the EPS this year will be very much on the 15-a-side game.We believe everyone in this squad has the potential to make the World Cup.We are looking forward to an exciting season, and I would like to recognise and thank those employers who have supported and released players to take up these contracts and represent England. 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