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 State's cavernous arena.
A few hours later, Brown's 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 didn't 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 State's late rally by controlling the glass and playing opportunistic offense.
Albany pulled down 43 rebounds to Penn State's 26 and scored 20 points off of fast breaks.
Garner scored 17 of Penn State's final 19 points and finished with 20. His team's unbalanced scoring pace wasn't 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 can't wait to come all the way back in the second half," Chambers said. "We've got to understand that you have to play hard from the tip."
BALANCED SCORING, AGAIN
The 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 WATKINS
The 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 State's few highlights around the rim.
The Philadelphia native scored the game's 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 MEND
A hamstring injury kept versatile forward Payton Banks out of Penn State's 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 PICTURE
Albany: 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, it's going to take much longer for Patrick Chambers to find what pieces fit where. He'll 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 NEXT
Albany plays at Cincinnati on Monday.
Penn State hosts Duquesne on Sunday.