Cuts » NIGHTNebraska shot 56.9 percent from th

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- As night fell over Happy Valley on Friday, hundreds of Joe Paternos former players gathered outside the schools baseball stadium to celebrate their accomplishments and the coach who inspired them before he left a polarizing legacy.About 50 yards from where a statue of Paterno was removed by the university after the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal, and Paternos possible role in it, rocked the small Central Pennsylvania town in 2011, former players hugged, laughed and told stories about Paterno as they filed into the private ceremony.Jimmy Cefalo, who played for Paterno from 1974-77 before embarking on a broadcasting career, called the late coach the most influential man in my life other than my father.He said his opinion of Paterno, who coached at Penn State for 46 years, remains unchanged.Joe will always be someone who took me out of a very small town and gave me a wonderful opportunity, Cefalo said. I dont know how many people would say he was my mentor and someone who gave me a great deal of my life and then change your opinion about him. It doesnt happen very often and it shouldnt happen to any of us.Its a sentiment shared by many of the men gathered there but not by a large group who view Paterno as a villain in the Sandusky scandal. For them, Paterno didnt do enough to stop Sandusky, an assistant on Paternos staff for three decades and believe honoring Paterno in any way is is insensitive to Sanduskys victims and the severity of the scandal.Paterno said hed wished he had done more before he died from lung cancer in 2012,Robert Hoatson was the only protestor who showed up. He said he drove in from New Jersey, identified himself as a victim of sexual abuse with no ties to Penn State and said he was outraged the university would honor Paternos head coaching debut. Penn State plans to do that during Saturdays game against Temple.Hoatson stood across the street from the stadiums entrance with two large signs -- one reading You already forgot the other sexual abuse of little boys and girls is soul murder. He gave several interviews to multiple reporters, said he hoped others would join him in protest and only smiled as a young heckler paced back and forth with him, questioning his motive. There were no other confrontations, however.Im just outraged that Penn State, even in the midst of so much still going on with the trials coming up of administrators, with the recent information that Joe Paterno did know in the 70s at the latest that kids were being sexually abused by Jerry Sandusky, said Hoatson, who founded and operates a sexual abuse support network called Road 2 Recovery. Its just outrageous that they have a celebration of Joe Paterno. Its as if these poor little kids who were sexually abuse here dont matter.Hoatson was referring to court documents unsealed in May that said an alleged Sandusky victim complained to Paterno about Sandusky in 1976 and was rebuffed. The universitys president, Eric Barron, has said the allegation was not substantiated in court or tested by any other process. Paterno was never charged with a crime related to the scandal.Sandusky was convicted on 45 of 48 charges in June 2012 and is serving a 30- to 60-year sentence.Former Penn State standout and Pittsburgh Steelers star Franco Harris has long been a supporter of Paterno and has insisted college footballs winningest coach did nothing wrong.Earlier this year, Harris encouraged fans to leave a brick near the small tree where the Paterno statue once stood. One blue brick with 409 -- the number of Paternos wins and his initials, JVP, stood at the foot of the tree on Friday night. Harris hoped it would send a message to Penn State administrators to make amends with the Paternos.Penn State will commemorate the 50th anniversary of Paternos coaching debut in addition to his commitment to student-athletes and academics during the Temple game on Saturday. Harris said hes happy with Penn States first step to do right by the Paterno family with the gesture.Its a good first step and one that is good and I know they received a lot of heat for it but so what, Harris said. Thats part of it. We know the truth so people can think whatever they want. We feel very comfortable where were at and we want Penn State to start to feel comfortable where theyre at. And so we hope that this grows and grows.Harris said hed like to hear a formal apology from the universitys board of trustees who fired Paterno over the phone in 2011.I think they handled it wrong and I think they got bad advice from the lawyers and the lawyers got it wrong and they handled it wrong, Harris said. And it caused a lot of damage to Penn State football and to a lot of individuals and that blame shouldve never been focused on Penn State football and a lot of these individuals.Members of the Paterno family would not comment during the event that was closed to reporters. Lebron James Sneakers Wholesale . -- About a third of the way through the regular season, the Washington Wizards are at . Lebron Shoes For Cheap . "I was fortunate to play many years at this level with a great organization and unbelievable teammates," said Hejduk in a statement. http://www.cheaplebronshoes.net/ . In Europe, top teams seem to be largely happy with their squads after spending nearly $1 billion in the off-season. And although English league clubs are unlikely to splash cash in January, Arsenal and Chelsea could be tempted to strengthen their squads with new strikers. Wholesale Lebron Shoes . Its sharpness matched my mind. This was no night to go to sleep. Lebron Shoes Sales . 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FULLERTON, Calif. -- There were no nerves for Nebraska guard Glynn Watson Jr. after Dayton took its first lead of the game with 16 seconds remaining, threatening to waste a strong performance in which the Cornhuskers led by as much as 14.Instead, Watson put his head down, drew a foul and hit two free throws with 8.8 seconds remaining as Nebraska beat the Flyers 80-78 in the first round of the Wooden Legacy on Thursday night.Thats his job, to win games at the right time, and thats one, Glynn, Nebraska head coach Tim Miles said while giving Watson a pat on the back.Watson finished with 20 points, and Ed Morrow Jr. added 19 points and 10 rebounds, as Nebraska improved to 4-0 for the second time in five seasons under Miles.Dayton (2-2) took its only lead on Scoochie Smiths layup to cap a 13-4 Dayton run, but they could not claim a second and final lead when a desperation pass the length of the court was batted away to end it.Nebraska celebrated a win over a team that has made the NCAA Tournament in each of the last three seasons after what seemed at times like a Dayton home game, with the Flyers bringing their pep band and mascot to Orange County.After a 16-5 run by Dayton tied it at 26, Anton Gill and Tai Webster combined to score 11 points to put Nebraska back in front by eight. Nebraska took a 40-31 lead into the locker room, and was able to maintain a comfortable lead for most of the second half.However, Charles Cooke and Xeryrius Williams combined for 23 second-half points as Dayton nearly escaped.You just knew they were going to end up in runs, and when those role guys, quite frankly, started making a whole bunch of shots, thats when you knew you had a problem on your hands, Miles said.Cooke finished with 17 points and Williams had 15 points and nine rebounds for Dayton, which shot worse from the field (38.1 percent) than it did from the 3-point line (41.7).Were a team right now that is trying to find an identity, Dayton coach Archie Miller said.dddddddddddd Right now there are certain things out there that just dont look right to me, and its not one guy. Its every guy.TURNING POINTMiller did not put the blame for the defeat on Daytons late-game play and instead pointed to the lackadaisical defense at the start, spotting Nebraska a 17-5 lead. It was the third straight game Dayton was poor from the opening tip and Miller understands that has to change to contend for the Atlantic 10 title and make a postseason run.We cant give a team 7-for-7 to start the game, Miller said. We cant give a team like St. Marys at home a 15-4 lead. We cant get down at Alabama 20-2. At the end of the day, its being ready to go from the start and ready to go on the defensive side of the ball.STAT OF THE NIGHTNebraska shot 56.9 percent from the field, becoming the first opponent to make more than 39.3 percent of their shots against Dayton this season.The fact we got the lead was amazing, Miller said.HE SAID ITWere just not rock-solid enough in any area right now to hang our hat on and say this is how we win, Miller said.BIG PICTURENebraska: The Huskers could be dancing in March. Nebraska has made the NCAA Tournament just one under Miles, but that could change if they can maintain the level of play they showed for most of the game against Big Ten opposition. Road trips to Kansas, Indiana and Maryland through Jan. 1 offer chances for signature wins.Dayton: The Flyers wont play this poorly very often. Cooke came into the game averaging 23 points per game and would not have come close to that figure if not for the late comeback attempt. Dayton rarely capitalized on 16 offensive rebounds and the defense was spotty for long stretches.UP NEXTBoth teams play a second-round game Friday night. ' ' '