Men’s Basketball Overpowers Pitt-Bradford 97-66
ALTOONA, Pa. – Penn State Altoona men's basketball excelled on both ends of the floor Saturday afternoon, defeating Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Pitt-Bradford 97-66 in the Adler Arena.
On defense, the Lions (14-6, 10-6 AMCC) set a single game program record by racking up 25 steals, and Penn State Altoona forced Pitt-Bradford (1-20, 0-16 AMCC) into committing 27 turnovers. Offensively, Penn State Altoona shot 48.1 percent from the field as a team and had 15 different players score points. The team connected on 12 three-pointers, tying for the eighth-most in a game in program history.
"Great team win today. I was very proud of the way we bounced back from a tough loss on Wednesday and took care of business today," said Penn State Altoona head coach David McGreal. "We didn't start the game the way I would've liked, but once we got going, we played well on both ends of the floor. I was very proud of the way we defended today and created a lot of turnovers and easy opportunities in transition."
Andruw Harman (Chesapeake, VA/Great Bridge) scored a team-high 13 points for Penn State Altoona to go along with five rebounds, four assists, four steals, and one block. Robbie Hicks (Rockledge, FL/Rockledge) added 12 points, three assists, and two steals.
Trey Butterworth (Clarence, PA/Bald Eagle) scored a season-high 11 points while recording three rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Austin Krise (Allport, PA/West Branch) also scored 11 points, and he contributed six rebounds, two assists, two steals, and one block.
Cameron Gardner-Nicholson (Philadelphia, PA/Boys' Latin Charter) led the Lions with nine rebounds and two blocks, and he also scored eight points. Jack Kusters (Quakertown, PA/Lansdale Catholic) also finished with eight points.
Pitt-Bradford got a game-high 23 points and 14 rebounds from Nick Carmichael. Nathan Nunn added 12 points, and Deondre Terwilliger scored 10 points.
Penn State Altoona shook off a sluggish start to finish the first half with 46 points, building a 15-point lead by the intermission.
Midway through the opening half, a 10-2 run by the Lions turned a 13-10 lead into a 23-12 advantage, with Hicks and Krise each contributing a three-pointer and a two-point basket during that span. Back-to-back treys from Hicks and Butterworth made it 33-15 by the 8:32 mark, and layups on consecutive possessions by Hicks and Harman increased the score to 37-17 a minute later. Harman's three-pointer with 59 seconds left in the period got his team to 46 points, and Penn State Altoona went into the locker room up 46-31.
The Lions started the second half on an 8-0 run, getting three-pointers from Butterworth and Kusters, along with a Krise layup. A layup from Gardner-Nicholson and another triple from Kusters gave Penn State Altoona a 59-35 lead at the 17:02 mark. Two minutes later, defense led to back-to-back breakaway dunks by Harman and Clevon Scott (Raeford, NC/Hoke County) that set the Lions' lead at 61-39.
Penn State Altoona went on to lead by as many as 34 points, getting strong contributions from a plethora of bench players along the way. In total, the Lions' bench accounted for 46 of their 97 points.
"Everyone who stepped on the floor played well in spurts, and that's what we need to happen the rest of the way as we jockey for playoff position," said McGreal. "It was great seeing the reserves get in there and get a chance to show what they can do on the floor. Those guys work hard day in and day out, and it's good to see them show what they can do."
Penn State Altoona finished the day with a big 33-0 advantage over Pitt-Bradford in fastbreak points, largely generated by the Lions' defense leading to scoring chances in transition. Penn State Altoona also led in rebounds (43-41), assists (20-13), points off turnovers (38-11), and points in the paint (44-36).
Next up, Penn State Altoona men's basketball travels to play non-conference opponent Grove City College this Wednesday, February 12 at 7:30 p.m.
