HAMBURG, N.Y. – The Penn State Altoona men's basketball team recorded its 18th overall win of the season on Saturday afternoon in an 82-66 victory at Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Hilbert College, setting a new program record for the most wins in a season.

The win sets the stage for a big AMCC matchup next Saturday in Erie, when Penn State Altoona (18-5, 13-2 AMCC) will face conference opponent Penn State Behrend in a game that could decide the number one seed in the AMCC Tournament.

Saturday's win is also Penn State Altoona's sixth straight conference victory and sets a new team record for the most AMCC wins in a season. The Lions overcame a slow first half to hand Hilbert (9-14, 5-9 AMCC) the loss, limiting the Hawks to a 32.4 percent field goal percentage – including going just 2-for-15 from three-point range – throughout the contest.

"Another day of firsts for the guys, setting the team record for most wins in a season and most AMCC wins in a season. But like I keep saying, 'we are – not done yet," said McGreal. "I think, by far, it was our best defensive effort for 40 minutes. We actually did the best job we have done all year with putting our defensive game plan to work. Obviously, we have some break downs, but for the most part, we did what we wanted to do to neutralize their two scorers."

Andruw Harman (Chesapeake, VA/Great Bridge) and PJ Charles (Altoona, PA/Altoona) both had double-doubles for Penn State Altoona. Harman scored a team-high 16 points on a 7-for-9 shooting performance while securing 12 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season, and Charles grabbed a game-high 15 boards to go along with 13 points for his team-leading sixth double-double of the year. Saivon Word (Upper Marlboro, MD/Frederick Douglass) added 15 points, four rebounds, two assists, and two blocks.

Mason Bush (Pittsburgh, PA/Seneca Valley) chipped in nine points, and Jarrett Gardner (Live Oak, FL/Suwannee) contributed eight points. Varun Ajjarapu (Tampa, FL/Berkeley Prep) and Alex McClellan (York, PA/West York) each recorded four assists to tie for the game-high, and they also both scored six points. Jalen Ruston (Upper Marlboro, MD/Wise) also scored six points for the Lions.

"PJ and Druw had great games inside and on the glass, and big Jarrett continues to improve and had his best game of the year," said McGreal.

Jahmel Demery and Zach Miller led Hilbert with 10 points apiece. Quran Briggs and Jon Evans added nine points each for the Hawks.

Penn State Altoona built a double-digit lead in the latter stages of the first half, before Hilbert came back to make it a two-possession game before halftime.

Leading by three points, 19-16, at the 7:31 mark, Penn State Altoona went on a 9-0 run that expanded its lead to 12. Two free throws and a three-pointer by Bush put the Lions up by eight, and fastbreak layups from Ajjarapu and Word gave Penn State Altoona a 28-16 advantage with 5:12 remaining in the half. Later, back-to-back baskets by Gardner and McClellan kept the visitors' lead at 12 points, 32-20, with 1:52 on the clock.

Hilbert ended the half on a 7-0 run, however, cutting its deficit to five points by the game's halfway point. A foul shot and layup from Eric Jackson brought the score differential back into single digits, and two Miller free throws and an Elijah Powell jump shot got Hilbert back to within 32-27 with four seconds left.

But Penn State Altoona's offense bounced back in the second half to produce 50 points, ultimately turning its five-point halftime lead into a 16-point final score. Harman and Charles each produced double-doubles in the second half alone, with Harman recording 12 points and 12 rebounds in the period and Charles accumulating 11 points and 11 rebounds during the half.

Word helped increase Penn State Altoona's lead to 10 points, 39-29, with his basket and foul shot at 17:03, and Bush converted a three-point play of his own at 14:41 to make it 46-33. Harman hit a three-pointer at 13:35 to increase the Lions' advantage to 15 points for the first time, and his dunk at the 8:07 mark helped extend the difference to 16 points, 61-45.

A pair of baskets and foul shots by Ruston within the next minute boosted Penn State Altoona's lead to 17, 67-50. Two free throws by Word at 6:02 got the Lions' lead to over 20 points, and his foul shots at 2:53 set his team's advantage at 22 points, 82-60.

The Lions finished their day with a 44-24 scoring advantage over Hilbert in points in the paint, and they also outscored the Hawks 24-6 in fastbreak situations.

After a bye in the middle of next week, Penn State Altoona men's basketball will prepare for its final regular season game next Saturday, February 19, when the Lions will travel to play AMCC opponent Penn State Behrend at 4:00 p.m. That game will have significant postseason implications, with the winner potentially coming away with the number one seed in the AMCC Tournament.

"This team has taken the pressure of being regionally ranked and all of these program firsts in stride so well, and I am so impressed," McGreal stated. "We're going to take a couple days off and get some rest, mentally and physically, as we have a week now for what most would consider the biggest game in the program's history, up until this point. And it's my job to make sure 'we ready!'"