Men’s Basketball goes toe-to-toe in overtime game against Penn State Altoona

ALTOONA, Pa. --- Carlow University men's basketball took its second AMCC game into overtime at Penn State Altoona Wednesday night.

Both teams scored 42 points apiece in each of the halves, but the Lions (6-8, 5-2 AMCC) defeated the Celtics (3-11, 1-6 AMCC), 98-92.

Oscar Contreras once again led the Celtics with a 22-point night off the bench, landing four of Carlow's seven treys. Riley Comforti put forth a double-double effort with 20 points, 13 boards, three assists, three steals and two blocks. Byron Gaskins added 20 points, a game-high six steals and two assists, and Gavin McLain recorded his first collegiate double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

The Lions jumped out to a 6-0 lead to start, but a three-pointer from Contreras quickly tied it, 8-8. Another Contreras three-pointer put the Celtics up, 11-10. The teams exchanged marginal leads before Carlow went ahead, 21-15, but back-to-back treys allowed the Lions to tie the game once again.

Altoona went on a 14-4 run that spanned over five minutes and included five treys to lead the Celtics, 35-25, midway through the half.

Carlow battled back to tie the game, 35-all, and another Contreras three-pointer broke an almost two minute stalemate to give Carlow the advantage.

The teams traded leads until the very end when Altoona hit a last-second layup to tie the game, 42-42, heading into halftime.

Both teams tied the score seven times throughout the second half, but a 13-8 run over the course of five minutes gave Carlow an 82-76 lead with two minutes remaining in regulation.

Altoona returned with an 8-0 run that culminated with a three-pointer to give the Lions an 84-82 advantage with just 33 seconds on the clock.

McLain landed a layup to tie the score, 84-all, and two missed free throws by the Lions forced overtime.

The overtime period played out much the same way, with the score tied at 90 and 2:35 left on the clock.

Altoona scored five unanswered points before Carlow called a timeout to regroup. The Celtics cut the Lions' lead to 95-92 with a pair of free throws and under a minute remaining, but Altoona sank three foul shots of their own to secure the victory.

The Celtics shot 77.3 percent (17 for 22) from the foul line, and the Lions shot 47.9 percent (34 for 71) from the field.

Carlow held a narrow 51-49 margin in rebounds and scored 24 points off 20 Altoona turnovers. The Celtics outscored the Lions 44-38 in the paint, and both teams scored half of their regulation points in the paint (42).

Justin Sheetz led Altoona with a game-high 30 points. Mason Bush added a double-double with 11 points and 15 boards, and three other players recorded double figures in the win.

Carlow hosts Alfred State College for a 2 p.m. game Jan. 13.