While the college basketball spotlight has recently been dominated by Glens Falls' Jimmer Fredette, let's take some time to look at another player from the area lighting it up at the D-1 level.

Through 20 games this season, Penn State's Talor Battle (Bishop Maginn) has scored 20.1 PPG and has led the Nittany Lions (12-8, 5-4) into a three-way tie for fourth place in the Big Ten.

While Battle's season-high tally of 31 points (achieved twice) has not garnered a fraction of the attention devoted to Fredette's scoring exploits, Battle has quietly put together another solid season in his senior year

Led by Battle, Penn State has recorded wins over typical college basketball powers such as Indiana, Illinois, Michigan State and Wisconsin. In Penn State's Jan. 29 win over (current) No. 19 Wisconsin, Battle scored 22 points and collected five rebounds.

Battle appears headed to earning another nod to a Big Ten all-conference team (he was a first-team member in 2009; second team in 2010). In conference play in the rugged Big Ten, Battle is the conference's third-leading scorer (20.1 PPG) and is 14th in assists (3.7).

Penn State has not played in the NCAA Tournament during Battle's tenure, though the team did win the NIT in 2009; in Joe Lunardi's latest "Bracketology" on ESPN.com, Penn State was not projected to make this year's field but is listed as one of the last four teams to miss the cut.

Penn State next plays on Feb. 1 against No. 21 Illinois; the Nittany Lions and Battle will be on ESPN2 on Feb. 17 when they host No. 18 Minnesota.

While at Bishop Maginn, Battle led the school to the Class AA title game during his senior season while he averaged 26.7 PPG, 5.7 APG and 4.3 SPG for the season. Battle and Fredette played together in AAU basketball during their high school years, both members of the Albany City Rocks.

For those looking for more on Battle ...

Here is a recent piece done by Pete Iorizzo of the Albany Times Union about how the combination of Battle and his half-brother, Taran Buie, has not gone as planned.

Also, in case you are suffering from Jimmer-withdrawal, here is an article done by David Jones on pennlive.com about Battle's reaction to Fredette's star turn.