OBERLIN, Ohio – The Penn State Altoona men's basketball team ended the calendar year on a high note Friday night, pulling out an 83-78 victory in two overtimes against non-conference opponent Oberlin College in the Philips Gymnasium.

Penn State Altoona (4-6) overcame an 11-point deficit during the second half and tied the score before the end of regulation to force overtime. After a deadlocked score by the conclusion of the first overtime period, the Lions outscored Oberlin (4-8) 11-6 in the second to clinch a victory.

"Huge road win tonight against a quality opponent from a quality league. We stayed resilient all game, playing from behind most of the game, yet we found a way to win," said Penn State Altoona head coach David McGreal. "Guys stepped up when we needed them to, and we got stops down the stretch when we needed to. It was a true team effort."

Mason Bush (Pittsburgh, PA/Seneca Valley) led all scorers with 23 points for his second consecutive 20-point effort for the Lions. Bush hit seven shots from the floor – including going 5-for-7 from three-point range – while shooting 4-for-5 from the free throw line. Saivon Word (Upper Marlboro, MD/Frederick Douglass) recorded his first double-double with Penn State Altoona, scoring 15 points and grabbing a team-high 10 rebounds while also dishing out five assists.

Robbie Hicks (Melbourne, FL/Rockledge) added 14 points, helped by a 4-for-6 effort from three-point range. Dwayne Jones (Philadelphia, PA/Greater Johnstown) contributed 11 points, nine rebounds, two blocks, and a game-high three steals, while Andruw Harman (Chesapeake, VA/Great Bridge) had eight points and six rebounds to go along with a team-high six assists and game-high three blocks.

Oberlin was led in scoring by Dimitrije Radusinovi, who finished with 22 points. Dorde Otasevic secured a game-high 17 rebounds for the Yeomen while scoring 12 points, and Andrew Gannon posted 15 points.

Oberlin jumped out to a 6-0 lead to begin the first half, following three-pointers from Gannon and Radusinovi. Henry Lieber's three-pointer at 13:58 put the home team up by seven, 14-7, and Milun Micanovic's basket at 12:04 gave the Yeomen an eight-point advantage, 17-9.

Penn State Altoona closed the gap to three by 8:52, following Hicks' three-pointer that lowered the Oberlin lead to 21-18. Bush's layup and free throw at 7:06 kept the difference at three, 24-21, and a pair of Harman foul shots at 4:33 did the same, 29-26. Bush connected from three-point range at 3:54 to knot the score at 29-29.

But Oberlin used a 7-0 run to establish a 36-29 lead with 1:36 left in the half, and the Yeomen ultimately went into the intermission holding a 39-35 advantage.

Oberlin opened the second period by outscoring Penn State Altoona 13-6 over the first six minutes, as Radusinovi's trey at 13:59 gave the home team its largest lead of the evening, 52-41.

However, Penn State Altoona embarked on a comeback led by a defensive effort that limited Oberlin to just 14 points over the rest of the half.

Hicks' three-pointer at 11:23 cut the Lions' deficit to 52-49, and Word's layup at 10:49 made it a one-point game, 52-51. An Alex McClellan (York, PA/West York) three-pointer and Jarrett Gardner (Live Oak, FL/Suwannee) layup kept the difference at one, 57-56, and McClellan's layup at 8:30 pulled Penn State Altoona ahead, 58-57. Oberlin was able to regain a lead of as many as six points, but layups by Word and Harman within the final 49 seconds of the half evened the score at 66-66 by the buzzer, and the teams proceeded to overtime.

Penn State Altoona worked its way to a 72-68 advantage by the 2:21 mark of overtime, following layups by Jones and Bush, but Oberlin used a pair of Radusinovi free throws and a layup from Asaan Snipes-Rea to tie the score 72-72 with 52 seconds to go. Neither team was able to come up with a go-ahead score over the remainder of the period, and the game proceeded to a second overtime.

Hicks started the scoring in the next overtime, hitting a three-pointer at 4:05 to break the tie. At 2:43, Hicks connected from beyond the arc again to make it 78-73, and a Jones layup at 1:07 kept Penn State Altoona's lead at five points, 80-75. McClellan added a free throw with 11 seconds to play, and Word tacked on two more foul shots in the closing moments to help seal a victory for the Lions.

With tonight's game representing Penn State Altoona's final non-conference matchup of the 2022-23 season, the Lions will now prepare to head into Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference play for the rest of their schedule. The team's next game is at home on Wednesday, January 4, when the Lions will host AMCC opponent Alfred State College at 2:00 p.m.

"We still have to keep getting better, but I am happy we are heading with some momentum into our conference slate," said McGreal. "Now, we have to get ready for everyone's best punch for the next seven weeks. We should be getting a couple pieces back who will definitely help, but these guys showed tonight no matter who's on the floor, we will always fight to the end."